A White Rose, A Kiss of Desire
by CrescentMelody
Summary: A glimpse of colors caught Kagome's attention. A different thought process was trigered and everything changed.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Beta by: Tokahlia**

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><p><strong>A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire<strong>

Chapter 1

Kagome was enjoying a very rare moment. It was a luxury that she had come to appreciate. There was no InuYasha to demand her of one thing or another, nor was there the constant worry of duty to collect the Shikon shards before her enemy did. This time was hers. She leisurely walked down a busy, paved road in one of Tokyo's more crowded shopping districts. It was truly an ironic moment; she felt so serene when her surroundings were anything but.

It had been three days since she returned from the Feudal Era. Her excuse this time was that she had to prepare for her midterm and take her exam soon after. She managed to convince InuYasha to let her return for a week after many 'words' were exchanged. She did try a different tactic this time; instead of continuing to build up her debate, she simply stopped talking and stared at him with a stoic expression. He too stopped talking and she turned and left for the well. It was kind of funny now that she thought back on it. Perhaps she should thank Sesshoumaru the next time she saw him, just maybe.

Kagome chuckled lightly at the thought. Something in her peripherals caught her attention. She whipped around, expecting to find someone from 500 years ago. Instead, all she saw was an achingly familiar item in a dress shop. Just behind the glass display window was a beautiful dress, no, dress was too drab, it was a gown. The color scheme caught her attention the most, for it reminded her so much of Sesshoumaru.

It was a hybrid; a perfect mixture of classic and modern. It was made up of a white, silk-like material and fell to a long but manageable length. The top was an open shoulder of a kimono. It was made of two layers; the inner layer was made of a white lace with a hint of silver thread. She concluded that the sleeves were…interesting. They started like a kimono but split into ribbons halfway between the shoulder and elbow. Half of the ribbons then doubled back and were tied intricately so that they ended at the elbow. The area where this occurred had the inner layer lace material become progressively redder from the original white. This was left to fall to the wrists with the bottom half of the remaining sleeves. At the wrist the other half of the ribbons began to crisscross till they reached the knuckles. With growing admiration Kagome noticed that this woven area could be folded back, increasing or decreasing the length of the dress' sleeves for the wearer's preference. The midsection of the dress was held together by a simple yellow and blue silk sash. The rest of the dress wasn't as complicated in comparison; it fell freely down in a grown-like manner with a small train in the back.

To the mannequin's left was a pedestal, on which sat a glass vase containing snow-white roses with blood-red tips. A satin white banner hung over the vase, Kagome found herself pushing past the crowd to get close enough to read the embroidered red words. It was a poem, the English name told her it had been translated into Japanese:

**A White Rose**  
><strong>By John Boyle O'Reilly<strong>

The red rose whispers of passion,  
>And the white rose breathes of love;<br>O' the red rose is a falcon,  
>And the white rose is a dove.<p>

But I send you a cream-white rosebud  
>With a flush on its petal tips;<br>For the love that is purest and sweetest  
>Has a kiss of desire on the lips.<p>

The moment Kagome finished her whisper of the poem, she hadn't even realised she had been speaking, an image of Sesshoumaru flashed in her mind and she blushed. _'Passion'._  
>She vigorously shook her head. <em>'I can't believe I just thought that' <em>her hands cupped her face, trying to cool the warm heat of the blush that had formed. Unbidden, she watched the many scenes play over in her head of the countless times she had secretly observed the stoic Lord of the West as he engaged in battle with his half-brother. The passionate glint in his eyes when he danced his deadly but intoxicating beautiful dance of blades that made her shiver in both fear and in excitement. The words he spoke were so cold but the actions he did were so…hot. There, she said it…uh, thought it. Kagome gave the display one last look before she almost smiled and entered the store.

Straight away a shop assistant zoomed in on her. "Welcome, young miss. How may this one help you?"

Kagome could not help but smile at the use of third person. She looked up to find a young man of early twenty dressed in a very stylish casual chic with a touch of rebellion accessories. Kagome would have blush at the charming smile he graced her if it weren't for another pop of image of Sesshoumaru smirk that flashed in her mind. _'Stupid brain, Sesshoumaru makes everybody looks bad'_

She gave the young man a, unknowingly, charming smile of her own before she quickly gave the store a glance-missing the small blush on the man's cheeks before he willed it away. She turned her gaze back to the store attendant.

"I'm thinking Feudal meet modern, mr…" She zoomed in on his name tag- Yuuki, Satoshi- "Satoshi-san"

"Ah, inspired by our display did you?" he said, a hint of amusement in his tone.

She smiled. "Something likes that"

**A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire**

Kagome's grandfather looked up from his newspaper at the sliding sound of the shoji door as it opened reached his ears. He waited in silence as the young woman kneeled before him. She bowed so her head touched the floor and her hands placed neatly in front of her. The she righted herself and settled into a seiza position.

Her grey eyes timidly reached his and she said; "Grandfather, I would like to learn to be a protector. Please teach me."

He was silent for a while, carefully studying her face. A moment later he nodded; "You are my granddaughter; within your veins flow my blood. I have helped raise you and have protected you as it is both my duty and because you are one of my precious people." It was the most serious tone she had ever heard him use with her. She felt her eyes soften at his heartfelt words.

"I am this family protector. I have lived through a world war as a child and another as a man. Before I begin your training, you must carve these words into your heart: **a protector is not a sacrifice.**"

**A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire**

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><p><strong>My many thanks to my reviewers. This is the edited version with the help from my awesome Beta, Tokahlia.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Beta: Tokahlia**

* * *

><p><strong>A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire<strong>

Chapter 2

"Keep up, gaki. You won't let this old man beat you in endurance will you?"

"No," A pant, "way, ha!" and another. "Like I'd let you, Grandpa!"

Kagome rushed past him only to find out shortly after that her grandpa was only playing with her; a gush of wind blew by her and he was once again running ahead of her.

"Better catch up, girly!"

A routine had been established for the last few days since Kagome requested training from her grandfather. The two would participate in a morning and night run around the shrine. Then they had to go down the stairs then back up them. After the morning run her grandfather would lead an exercise of Tai-Chi. He wasn't the best practitioner but he knew enough about the style to know that it would help Kagome tremendously with control; after the first practice he could feel that some of her ki had been unblocked, hopefully this would improve her reception to reiki training. It was also a good way to stretch after the run to avoid muscle cramps and to increase flexibility. The style would also help her balance, although the old man liked to think that he had superior genes, his granddaughter was clumsy enough to trip on air. He would blame it on her awkward teenage growth but she had always been that way. It had always baffled him when she had been younger. Though quite good at her Gymnastics classes she had always been the clumsy one, falling off the beam, fudging her brownies, things that Gymnasts with more grace usually did not experience. He hoped that once she had finished growing she would find her center of gravity, but the jury was still out.

Old man Higurashi looked up to see his granddaughter finishing the last of her breakfast. He waited for her to chug down her second glass of orange juice before standing up and stacking his plate onto Kagome's.

"Let's move on to archery, child." His daughter picked up the stacked plates and hurried away into the kitchen, after giving Kagome a tender kiss on her head.

"Hai, Grandpa; thank you, Mama"

Archery lesson was one of the more difficult things for Kagome to learn mainly because it kept reminding her of Kikyou and the harsh words InuYasha constantly shot her with. When she reached for an arrow from her quiver, only to fumble around for a few seconds she could _see _his exasperated look. Every time she missed the bulls-eye she found herself mentally cringing, preparing for a harsh rebuke. Even with this psychological dilemma, she was glad that her grandpa took time to explain the techniques of archery. It made her notice the fact that no one in the Feudal Era had every offer her help with the bow or any other form of weaponry and self-defense. Well, Sango had offered, but that had been a long time ago. Kagome had been trying to gain the courage to ask her but Sango had seemed caught up in her own problems, Kagome didn't want to intrude.

"Aim, Kagome. Do not let your arms move. The arrow should be level to your eye and your arms should not move until you see the arrow fly off ahead. Do not move your arms as soon as you let the arrow go."

"Hai, Grandpa."

She steadied her left arm, now clad in an arm guard (no one had told her that they had guards to stop welts from occasional string slap) and pulled back on the string with her right. She used not only her arm's muscles, but the apparently underused muscles of her back to draw the bow to shy of its full potential. She sighted her mark. A breath in, a breath out; then the fingers in her right hand relaxed, she held the position until she physically took in the arrow, embedded far to the right of the target.

"I'm sorry Grandpa-"

"Do not be Kagome. Continue to aim where you shot that arrow until the quiver is empty. The first step is to become consistent. Then we can move onto the 'hitting-the-bulls-eye' part."

The training continued until lunch time. She learned that if she 'aimed' the arrow down and to the left that it managed to hit closer to the target. Lunch was a quiet affair because everyone was lost in their thoughts. Kagome's mother was happy that her daughter was becoming independent. Grandpa Higurashi was busy recalling memories of his training so he could plan the next lesson. Kagome spent lunch chewing slowly and absorbing all she had learned.

The aged Higurashi was leisurely sipping his tea when he noticed something; his granddaughter looked too skinny. It might have been a bias opinion because he grew up in a time where the women plumpness was valued as beauty but, even without this opinion it was easy to see that his granddaughter had lost some weight.

"Kagome, I want you to find alternatives to eating ramen on your journey. One does not grow into adults by ramen alone. Later on we will head to the bookstore to get you some books on edible, native plants and a few cookbooks. While we're at it, we should get you a few books on archery and sword play. I'm not sure why you have not been getting any training from your friends in the Feudal Era. Don't they realize that you have no survival skills training while you are all in constant danger?"

"I don't know." she murmured. She looked up from her math book when she heard her grandpa sigh.

"I'm glad you came to me for help, Kagome. Now, I want you to learn to look for edible plants and fruit while you travel. You will also need to learn to hunt. I'm sure that you would not want to rely on InuYasha for everything and I highly doubt that the boy will not complain and whine like a child."

Kagome chuckled then a thought struck her. "Grandpa, I don't know if I will be able to add anything else to my backpack."

The old man was silent for a while as he searched his mind for a solution; he caught a glimpse orange from the corner of her eye and turned to see what it might be. It was one of Souta's many manga novels. The title of this specific one that he picked up was Naruto. He vaguely remembered Souta telling him about it; how awesome it was etc. Souta had once asked if his sister could do the same things that the characters in the manga did, since she had powers of her own. Nonchalantly he flipped through the pages and a widening smile appeared on his face.

"I got it! Wait here, I'll be right back."

Kagome and her mother watched as her grandpa rushed out and disappeared around the corner of the hallway. They shared a look and shrugged. Kagome was tempted to pick up the manga and find out what her grandpa was on about but decided to it keep it a surprise and let her grandpa have his fun. It was not until ten minutes later that the old man returned with a stack of old scrolls that were surprisingly well kept.

"Okay." he sat down and put the scrolls on the table in front of him. "I am not sure if it will work or not since I don't have the reiki to try it out for myself."

Kagome listened and nodded for him to continue.

"This is a scroll on sealing. I've studied from journals of our ancestors about these sealing arts."

Kagome looked at him skeptically, not sure if he was serious or not. He did have a history of being eccentric, especially when it came to history.

"Well go on, try it out. No wait, open it and read through it first then tell me if it works later. I'm going to take a nap." He left soon after.

"Okay…?" _'I knew he can't be normal for too long._  
><em>'<em>

**A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire**

InuYasha could not figure out what had changed. Sure he noticed the obvious change in her wardrobe, her new hairstyle and even a new carrier bag but there were more changes that he had yet to figure out.

Kagome no longer wore her school uniform but instead replaced it with something he could not describe. He did notice the element of Feudal fashion but the other mix was lost to him. He guessed that it was a style of clothing from her time. He would never vocally admit it but she looked good in those clothes. The tan leather satchel that she carried was much smaller than the monstrous yellow bag that she once took with her. She apparently had only a few books with her. That was still one too many for his tastes. It was not until much later that he found out that she had learned a new skill, sealing arts. He had asked her (more like demanded) about it and all she told him was that it was a family secret.

Another thing that pissed him off was that she refused to ride on his back; he couldn't figure out why. The only explanation he got was that she wanted to train her endurance and stamina. It was not that he hated the idea of her becoming more useful; he just did not understand what her motivation was and why _now_. He just hated that she acted more guarded around him than she had previously.

"Wench! Go to sleep already. What are you doing still reading in the middle of the night?" He shouted down from his tree above the Inutachi.

Silence was her answer. She did not look up from the scroll in her hand. The only indication that she heard him was the small twitch of her left eyebrow.  
>"Hey, I'm talking to you!"<br>She looked up and glared. "Well, Yasha; Wake up the whole forest why don't you." she spoke softly but she was certain that he heard her loud and clear; dog-ears and all. His next action confirmed her belief. InuYasha jumped down from his perch on the tree and crouched in front of her. She sent her aura out just enough for him to not invade her personal space; he did not seem to notice. _'That's interesting, that's something to think about later.'_

"Wench, quit bitching and go to sleep already; I don't want you to slow me down tomorrow because you're too tired from slack of sleep!"

"Well maybe you should make your own breakfast tomorrow and from now on! I am not your keeper and neither are you mine!"

"The hell, bitch; you will listen to what I say! Mind your place!" InuYasha was starting to lose to his beast, his hand post in a threatening manner ready to strike.

Kagome eyes were veiled by her bangs but she did not take her eyes off him. Her reiki bubbled inside her, brought out by the impending danger before her and positioned to fight with and to defend her at any moment. The aura she ebbed out around her, at the beginning of his arrival, began to solidify into a barrier.

"Know my place?" she spoke slowly, it was spoken more as a statement than a question. "I know exactly where my place is!"

Her eyes emerged, from behind her fringes, glow an eerie blue.

"It is obvious that my place is somewhere far away from you because you are a danger to my being!"

As soon as those words left her lips she was on defense as InuYasha attack. Her barrier formed just in time and she was momentarily safe from the hanyou assault. The youkai markings emerged on is cheeks, his fangs elongated and his eyes bloodshot and the ember of his irises was replaced by an abyss-black that glowed with silver light. The moment he made contact with her barrier, shots of electricity rushed through him. The great pain caused him to scream and only served to enrage his beast more. Luckily, before he could retaliate, Kagome said the one word that would keep him from doing anything.

"Osuwari!"

He hit the hard dirt ground with a bang. By this time, the rest of the small group had awoken. They watched on, confused as to what had happened that caused this turn of events.

"Kagome-sama, what happened?" Miroku rubbed his eyes as he looked at her.

_'What do you think?'_ was what she wanted to say; instead she said, "He was being his usual self and I will not take it anymore" she let her gaze turned to the unconscious form of the red clad hanyou for a moment then turned and walked away.

"I'm going for a walk."

She disappeared into the darkness before anyone could stop her.

**A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Beta: Tokahlia**

* * *

><p><strong>A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire<strong>

Chapter 3

Kagome was quiet as she lay motionless on her back. She had left their camp on a whim due to her frustration at the hanyou. She knew for certain that she could subdue him but it was too much of a drag to do so constantly. No good merit could come from doing so and so she had left. It had taken some time for her eyes to adjust to the darkness; it was quite dark this night because the moon was a waning crescent. Her judgment told her that there would be four nights 'til the new moon. She did not have a destination in mind when she had left. Her feet wandered without her control, and, once her eyes had adjusted to the low light she followed the brightest light source that caught her attention. Her rising level of self-reservation, due to her training with her grandfather, caused her reiki to mist out and search for danger.

It was not long after that she found herself enter a small, smartly hidden clearing that housed a small spring. The lights that had beckoned her to follow turned out to be a hive of fireflies. If she were a person that believed in fairies, which was pretty likely now that she thought about it, she did travel with a kitsune, bakeneko and a hanyou for heaven's sake, she was sure that she had just entered their kingdom. The small pond had crystal clear spring water that trinkled down from a small waterfall on a cliff-ace.

The small clearing was filled with all kind of flowers. Most were shut tightly however, as it was night time. It made Kagome wish that she had come during the Sun's ruling hours. She still had great appreciation for the mystic beauty, which glowed softly even in such little moon light, the night's floras. The lunar flowers in bloom emanated a very seductive aroma that had Kagome in trance. She was not sure when she had reclined her body on the soft grass lawn. She only noticed that she had changed position when the etheral view of twinkling star-lights heaven was displayed before her eyes.

"So pretty..." she whispered. Her heart felt content with her surroundings. The atmosphere was very serene, sacred even. The soft sounds of the night, the insects, the nocturnal animals, the aquatic creatures, the winds; all weaved melodic serenity. The silent allure of night captivated her and she could not help but sigh in serenity. Her eyes closed and she let herself bask in everything. Her reiki gently trickled out of her and into the land; she felt as if the ground under her had disappeared and that she was laying on water. The refreshing feeling of liquid purity was tactile on her skin. The land of utopia and paradise, if such a place existed on earth, was sure to be this. There was no good and there was no evil. The balance of nature around her was neutral. there was life and there was death; and most of all, there was survival.

_'Life, death and survival.'_ She opened her eyes. Her lungs expanded steadily as she ran the thoughts over in the mind. Life and death are neither good or evil. Survival is a necessity. _'But I want to live, not just survive.'_ Another impromptu image of Sesshoumaru flashed in her mind for the first time this evening and she rested her forearm over her eyes. A sharp breath left her in an almost chuckle like manner and an ephemeral smirk raised her lips. She could not believe she was thinking of him again. _'I wonder if he is living or just simply surviving.'_

Just as she finished that thought, recollection of his apathetic eyes staring stoically at her caused her heart to ache. "What's wrong with me?" she groaned. If she was the type to curse she would have done so then because she was getting frustrated about her excessively stray thoughts concerning a certain stoic lord. If said demon would enter the clearing right at this moment she would not know how to react. _'Stop thinking about such stupid thing, Kagome. Of course something like that would not happen.'_ she mentally berated herself. Even as she thought that, she could not help her-self but feel paranoid and quickly scanned the clearing with her reiki. _'Still, it would have been kinda romantic if we have a chance meeting at this kind of place.'_ She blushed then mentally smacked her forehead in exasperation. _'Yeah, romantic if he was 'magically' no longer disgusted about human beings and wouldn't kill me outright.' _  
>Kagome could just imagine his impassive face as he went for the killing blow, she<em> had<em> seen it once. "Tsk, even if he killed me I would get a kiss in first."  
><em>'Baka, Sesshou...' <em>was her last thought before she fell into slumbering rest.

**A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire**

Sesshoumaru was annoyed. He had not been so annoyed since his first encounter with idiotic On'nanoko (girl) that followed his baka half-brother around. That girl had always been an enigma to him. He could not figure out how she was able to remove his father's fang blade when neither he nor his brother could do the feat. Testsusaiga also protected her from his poison. Every time he fought the hanyou he noticed that she was secretly watching him. Her bangs had carefully hidden her analogical eyes that studied his every movement, though it was not enough to merely _physically_ hide something from Sesshoumaru, such arrogance she had to think that he would not notice! He did not think much of it when he caught her the first few times but after the third encounter he deemed it as important. It had become a pattern. From then on, without her knowledge, he had studied her more closely. He memorized her scent and the feel of her power. It was surprisingly pleasant for a ningen (human); her power was something that he found both intoxicating and revolting. _'Not frightening, nothing could ever frighten this Sesshoumaru.'_He was a creature of dark nature; her pure reiki went against his very existence. Yet at the same time the powerful energy called to him, being a creature that valued power.

Sesshoumaru relaxed his body on the warm bolder as the tension in his muscles loosened while he soaked in the hot spring. He breathed in the soft scent of lilac from a nearby plant and allowed its calming aroma to further unwind his body. He closed his eyes and reminisced on the numerous occasions he had felt that someone was watching him. He had doubled back on his trail and taken off in a different direction, masked his youki, flown, stepped through many rivers until he had deemed that this feeling was psychological, not physical. He felt no evil intention from the ghostly presence. A presence might not be the correct word; he could not sense the origin of the feeling anywhere near him. It was just so irritating. He vowed that once he figured out what or, more specifically, who had caused him such unease, he would be sure to make them pay for this transgression. How was it that someone could cause him such irritation from so far away? Maybe he should have another 'chance encounter' with is half-brother's pack and burn off some steam. Inuyasha was always fun to toy with.

**A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire**

The river god was awaken from his sleep by a foreign presence in his sacred spring clearing. He was puzzled by her presence, for he was certain that it was a female, for his territory heavily warded. He did not have a priestess as he did not feel the need for one. Unlike other deities, he was assigned his job by the Almighty Creator and not because he simply came into a sentient state due to mortals' beliefs.

A flash of her foreign energy crept through his land and he could not help but blush as the warm feminine power brushed his entire body. Nothing like this had ever happened before. He was acutely aware of her state of undress in his spring. He should be mad by her usage of his sacred water but could not find within himself the will to feel so. Her feminine scent tickled his nose; he could feel and 'see' her every movements. He was so tempted to appear before her to either berate her for using his spring or to ravish her and make her his bride. He was not one to force his will onto another but he felt so violated by her. Why should she not feel the same? The sacred spring held half of his soul!

Kagome was not sure what implored her to bathe in the spring. She could sense the holy essence thickly concentrated within the clear blue water. She subconsciously knew that to simply drink a drop of this water would be a blessing all on its own but something in her just made her greedy and a small sip would not be enough. Her body broke free of her conscious control and she found herself submerged head to toe within the cooling liquid. She felt an acquiescently excelling being within this small body of water; however, at the same time she felt scared, guilty and apprehensive as if she was doing something forbidden, which she probably was.

Her heart's fluttering made her feel uneasy, dizzy. The currents around her began to act abnormally. Every moment made her more suspicious. She felt as if the water was sentient and suddenly realized that if it was she stood vulnerable within its territory, naked as the day she was born. She hugged herself, arms swung around her chest. The urge to escape for land was strong but she could not make the action to get away from the spring's center where she floated; something was holding her in place, though she did not feel anything physical.

Then the answer to her paranoia came. She felt a growing concentration of a presence behind her. Her heart, which had been fluttering before was now a mere staccato. A claw seemed to reach up through her esophagus and catch her breath in her throat. Yet all she could do was float in the spring and hope that whomever or whatever she had disturbed wasn't hungry. She squeezed her eyes shut and flinched when she felt the silky texture of something tactile against her skin. She waited until the fabric had stilled then carefully opened her eyes, almost sighing when she saw that it had cloaked her nakedness. That sigh was stopped however, and replaced with a choking sound when her mind registered that the presence had circled around her. An "Eeep" escaped her throat and once again she closed her eyes in fright, her hands were now free and she used them to cover her exposed body with the unknown garment that she had been provided with. She was grateful for the privacy but her fear of the strong power overruled every other emotion.

"A pure maiden had entered my spring." the masculine voice spoke slowly, enunciating each letter with perfect infliction. The velvet tenor tone caused Kagome to shiver and her knees to go weak. She wanted to quickly apologize for her trespassing but her voice was still locked in her throat by that invisible claw. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped tighter at the fabric in her hold. She took a deep calming breath and slowly opened her eyes.

She gasped; her arctic silver-blue eyes met his blazing gem green orbs. Never had she seen such green eyes. His hair, straight and shoulder-length, was cut into an A-line hairstyle. She couldn't decide on the color, at times it seemed white, others a bright cobalt. His face seemed ageless. At first sight she would have thought him to be about ten years older than she but now he seemed to be just about her age, maybe a bit older. When their gaze crossed again she realized that she had been staring at him, and he at her. She blushed at his intense gaze and flushed with even more vibrant hue when she registered how handsome he was and that she stood nearly naked in front of him with only a light fabric that _he_provided to keep her modesty.

"Do you know what it means when a holy maiden bathes in a sacred spring of a god, Fair Lady?" His voice was nice, like a bubbling stream. She was too distracted by this fact to register what he had said. It took her a while but she absorbed his words.

_'A god?'_Kagome nervously shook her head before the bonding feeling once again encased her.

He bestowed on her a charming smile then, without her comprehension, bridged the gap between them to caress her cheek with the back of his fingers. He maneuvered his fingertips to softly glide through her dripping hair before cupping her petite face. Then, he leaned in close to her, and kissed her lips, the kiss of a butterfly on a flower's first bloom.

"A greeting to you, my bride."

_'For the love that is purest and sweetest_  
><em>Has a kiss of desire on the lips.'<em>

**A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Beta and co-author: Tokahlia**

* * *

><p><strong>A White Rose _ A Kiss of Desire<strong>

Chapter 4

It was quite amazing, he remarked, on the amount of sheer ignorance his half-brother possessed. He had been close-by for at least an hour now and InuYasha had yet to acknowledge his presence. The gall. Sesshoumaru huffed, a sound he allowed himself since Jaken and Rin were not around, then continued on with his experiment.  
>This had not started as an amusement, he remarked. He did have a genuine reason for continuing on like this, he told himself.<br>It had started when he had tried to draw InuYasha out, away from the pesky demon slayer and cursed monk, using his youki as a lure. He had prodded softly and subtly; surely, he had thought, a hanyou used to his youki would react right away. But, InuYasha seemed to defy all of his beliefs. He had remained, unperturbed by the demon energy as he stood watch over his pack. Intrigued, Sesshoumaru had travelled closer, yet unnoticed by the Inutaichi.  
>With his superior eyes, Sesshoumaru had scoped out the group from a safe distance. All of his half-brother's pack seemed to be there except the miko. InuYasha sat hunched over on the ground, facing a direction where, Sesshoumaru deemed by circling around for a closer look, the miko's scent lead towards.<br>_'Idiotic hanyou; why do you simply wait for her?' _  
>And so, there was Sesshoumaru, gently meditating in a tree only 100 feet from Inuyasha (downwind of course), jabbing and poking his half-brother with increasingly stronger amounts of youki. He shifted in his seat as he continued, waiting to see when someone, for the monk might wake up before InuYasha got a clue, would recognise his presence.<p>

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Kagome was not sure what she was feeling. She felt flattered; truly, who in their right mind would not feel grateful when desired by a god. She was quite certain that she had read his eyes correctly. He made her feel so feminine and wanted. He looked like he would be more than happy to kiss her again. Speaking of kisses, she could still feel the pleasant tingling sensation on her lips from their first kiss. It caused butterflies to flutter within her and her heart to act up. It was the sweetest thing that had ever happen to her; go figure that it was caused by a god.

"Um..." She began but turned bashful at his piercing gaze. she gulped. The River God smiled, loving the beautiful blush on her cheeks and greatly enjoying the bashful look on her face.

"Your blush is addorable," he said as he caressed her cheeks and cause Kagome to squeal within her mind.

"Don't say something like that with a straight face!" she hid her face with her hands and ended up cupping his hands as well. He laughed and Kagome squealed for real this time only for it to be muffled by her hands. The deep tenor of his silky voice made her knees grew weak. _'That voice should be illegal!' _ she thought, then blinked mentally. _'Maybe it is; it's not like human rule__s__should __apply to him anyway.'_

She peeked between her fingers and had to seal her hands again at the blindingly bright smile that she saw. A yip escaped her when his larger hand that had cupped her cheeks pulled away from her own grasp, only to circle around her waist moments later. It took her a moment but she realised that she was being pulled gently closer to a certain toned, masculine body. Her first instinct was to breakaway, she didn't know him! How could she trust a guy, even a breathtakingly gorgeous male as he, that she had just met?

"My bride is beautiful." he whispered softly and she melted in his embrace. _'Warm...' _he thought, smiling into her hair.

"Tell me, what is your name?" He asked, making Kagome momentarily startle. That was right, she didn't know him, at all! As she spoke she tried to subtly pulled away.

"Kagome. Higurashi Kagome. Charmed, Kami-sama"

He chuckled at her tone. "It certainly is, Kagome"

She was startled when he spoke her name. Due to her past experiences, his acknowledgement of her name meant so much to her. He, a god, had said her name; giving her the respect that she had always had to _command_from numerous males that claimed her as one thing or another, deforming her given title at birth, her name.

_'Such a strange creature she is; her emotions are so quick to change.'_ he was quite pleased with himself as he felt her bubbling happiness at his simple use of her name. _'And what a beautiful name it is.' _

"You have not told me your name, Kami-sama"

"Ha, I apologize, my dear. You may call me ****"

"I'm sorry? I do not understand what you just said" she told him, confused as she leaned back from his embrace. She caught his sad smile before he hid away the sadness and smiled softly down at her.

"It saddens me that you cannot yet hear my name, dearest." she blushed at his warm endearment and told him it was not his fault. "You warm me with your kind words, my dear. I will allow you to call me Haku for now. Does this pleases you?"

She nodded. "Hai." her eyes bashfully darted away from his handsome face. It was only then that she noticed how late it had gotten. The sun was in it's quarter position in the eastern sky, an indication of 9 hour mark. A sense of panic rose within her chest followed closely by reluctance. Kagome did not want to leave but her sense of duty beckoned her to return to her quest. She returned her gaze to his face, taking in everything quickly and finally met his eyes. His eyes held no judgement only curiosity shined through at the moment.

"I must return to my quest, Haku-dono..." her voice trailed off, only confirmed his suspicion of her reluctance to leave. It was odd how easily he could read her, but then again he was not surprised; she had unknowingly revealed all of herself when she bathe within his spring, a spring that held half of him.

"You will return to my side." he commanded her softly and embraced her once more as he wished to memorize her scents and the unique essence that was hers.

Kagome was surprise when he did not protest. _'Maybe I got too used to InuYasha's reactions.' _She was even more surprised when she did not react negatively to his command. It made her happy, she realized; because the tone of his command was loving. then she felt guilty because she was not sure she could return such adoration.

"I will wait for you." he whispered, smoothing her hair with one of his large, pristine hand.

_'How did he know what I was thinking? Does he know?' _

"I can read your aura, my dear. I apologize if my skill make you feel violated, it was not my intention." His green eyes glittered in truth.

She gave him a small smile, an indication that she forgave him, and he tugged back the hair behind her ear in affection.

"Why are you treating me so affectionately? You've only just met me, I don't understand..." She asked even as she leaned into his touch.

He did not answer her immediately, but took his time to study her. "You are my bride, Kagome. This spring you bathe in hold half of my soul."

"W...what?" she said, the volume of her voice could not proceed pass a whisper. _'I don't understand. What does that mean? __Did I... _expose _myself?__'_Her cheeks, already quite red, darkened in response to this thought.

"You have exposed yourself to me in the most intimate way. Can you not feel the strings between us that connect our thoughts?"

"Haku-dono," she began, her eyes looked down in shame as she continued to speak. "I'm not trained enough to see for myself what it is that you just told me." Her voice was low as she admitted her shortcoming. Kagome was startled when she felt him gently lifted her chin. She blushed again at the soft look in his eyes.

"You're inexperience is not a fault of your own. You have no reason to be ashamed. If you are willing, I would teach you in the arts, if it is what you desire to learn."

"Really?" she smiled when he nodded only to have her elation be defiled when a thought hit her. "My quest, Haku-dono. How will we meet?"

"I will come to you"

"How...?" _'Will you find me?' _

He cut her off, "I have my ways" he gave her a reassuring smile. "Now go, before I change my mind."

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

By the time she was near the camp again, the sun was almost in the 10 o'clock position in the sky. _'Please have waited, please have waited...' _She chanted in her head, tripping over roots of trees in her distress.

She knew that being happily wedded to Haku wasn't what anyone would consider 'normal', not in her time or in this earlier era. But, she reasoned with herself, she was sick of them all. She was sick of Kouga, who said one thing in one breath then was bounding away in another. She was sick of InuYasha, who she loved with all her heart but he was too busy being stubborn and mourning his first love to notice. And she was certainly sick of a certain daiyoukai, who she found... beautiful and handsome and _hot, _but who would never _lower _himself to her level.

It was serendipitous then, that she happened to run into one older brother, sitting, legs crossed, in a low-lying branch.

Unbidden a word she had just allowed her mind to think and without her knowledge she mumbled a word;

"Hot..."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow as his magenta-striped eyelids opened to reveal the amber underneath. "It is early morning _miko_, the day will get much hotter than this."

Kagome stood, dumbfounded as she tried to figure out what could have elicited such a sentence from him. She frantically back peddled until she figured out why her cheeks were burning brighter than they had when Haku had found her naked.

She had called Sesshoumaru, the bad-boy that he was _Hot. _'_Seriously, why do I always go for the bad-boys and this time an untouchable one at that!' _

"Well, Good morn to you too; Sesshoumaru of the West" She spoke in an almost courteous tone but could not fully manage to keep the sarcastic tone out of her voice causing his eyes to narrow. "I find that the temperature had reached an uncomfortable degree for me due to my active exercise of limbs." Kagome had no idea where all of her words were coming from and why she was speaking in such a snobbish arrangement of words. There she went again! _'Uh, and just where am I going with provoking an experience killer? I must have a death wish or something!'_

"Watch your words, M_iko._"

_'Hate to break it to ya, but I can't see invisible words when I speak.' _was what she wanted to say and it was so tempting to see how far she could push his control until he snapped. She instead cleared her throat softly but still unable to find the words to reply.

Sesshoumaru carefully hid his surprise under his typical look of boredom at seeing his brother's miko. She looked her age, Sesshoumaru caught himself wondering what her actual age was; she always seemed younger when she wore those strange clothes and was around the hanyou but here, she looked older, more mature. He hypothesised it had to do with her change in clothing. It was jarring to see her in an oriental dress from Chuka. Though the clothes she had previously donned had been completely lacking in modesty and practicality she had seemed at home in them. Wearing this... hanfu was the word, she looked like a stranger, it seemed to swamp her. He briefly pondered where she could have gotten such fine clothing when the winds changed.

In the briefest of moments her scent blew to him, and sub-consciously he noted that InuYasha, who, he deemed, was probably tuned out to his surroundings, would more than likely to intrude. But, that was not what caused his brows to furrow minutely. It was _her _scent. It had changed. But, before he could interrogate her, _'Subtly of course, she will not even realise what information she has given this Sesshoumaru.' _the miko gasped and Sesshoumaru only just had time, though _of course _no one would be able to see that this was not what he had planned to do all along, to dodge out of the way of a certain half-breed's claws.

Kagome's first instinct was to stop the fight; she was certain that it would turn ugly really fast, but held back when she noticed that both of them need to burn out some steam. She saw Sesshoumaru ignore an obvious opening and saw InuYasha slow his punch down as it came closer to his older brother._ 'They need to get another hobby.'_she sighed in exasperation as she moved away from the siblings, to a safe, yet observable distance.

"What the h*ll are you doing here, b*stard?"

"Hn, it was not I who was born out of wedlock, Half-breed."

"Why you..."

Kagome toned out the rest of their 'conversation' and carefully watched the fight in silence. Sesshoumaru graceful movements left her body yearning and reminiscing of her childhood hobby. At the age of nine 'till about when she had been twelve she had dreamed of becoming a professional figure gymnast. The wonderful memories only sadden her because she realized that the dream couldn't be made a reality because she had duty to the Shikon no tama. She clenched her fists as she continued to watch the battle, hissing in sympathy as InuYasha got a particularly painful right hook from Sesshoumaru. _'I wonder if __I__ c__ould__ use my skills with ribbons in battle...' _

"Kagome!" The first voice made Kagome start.

"Kagome-sama." The second she registered

"Oka-san!" By the third Kagome had forced herself to move away from the fight and turn in the direction of the voices. She scooped down to catch Shippou with practised ease and stood upright with his small form in her arms.

"Hi, sweety. Hey, guy!"

"Mama, where were you? I was so worried;" Shippou buried his head into her shoulder as she petted his bushy hair in reassurance. "and Inuyasha was being a butt-head again."

"Gomene, Shippou. I found a hidden clearing and fell asleep there. I guess I got caught up bathing this morning." Kagome smiled in apology at her two friends, close enough to be brother and sister.

"Well, I'm glade you're alright, Kagome-chan; though, what are you wearing?" Sango moved closer to Kagome, expressively gesturing at her assemble.

"Yes, where did you acquire such luxurious garments Kagome-sama? I do not believe that you wore that when you left. I did not see you bring anything like that with you."

Kagome furrowed her brows, then looked down to see what they were talking about. She gasped. "Wow. Pretty..." She honestly thought that this was the most beautiful outfit she had ever worn. The red hakafu seemed to be made of silk, or at least a silk like material; it was no surprise she did not notice her change in garment until now.

"Oh, this? It was just something i threw on when I noticed how late it was. As for your question in me not having anything on me; did you forget about my storage seals, Miroku?" Kagome bluffed her way trepidatiously through the story. Though Miroku and Sango sensed something was off Kagome had never been a liar, so why would she start now?

"Ah," He nodded even though he was not quite content with her answer. "I must say, you look beautiful in that garment, Kagome-sama."

"You think so?" Kagome blushed. She knew it was _Miroku, _who, if his tongue was anymore gilded it would be solid gold, but it was the first time he had ever complimented her.

"Hai, you're really pretty, Mama." Shippou nodded feverishly while Sango gave a small nod in agreement. Miroku's honest smile started to twist into his lecherous look but before he had a chance to do anything, he was quickly banged on the head by Sango.

"Oh, no you don't. Better keep that hand to yourself, Monk!"

"Itai..." he soothed his head. "But Sango dear, it's the curse I tell you!"

Kagome and Shippou rolled their eyes in synchornised exasperation before Kagome turned her attention back to the 'battle.' It was more of a spar really, though she wouldn't say it to their face. Then they might actually try and kill each other to prove their point.

Suddenly, amber eyes flicked her way and Sesshoumaru suddenly left an opening. _'Wait, did Sesshoumaru just __look at me?__'_ Kagome heart lurched in shock when her eyes caught a small smirk on his face. _'No way...I must be hallucinating.' _

"Oi! Pay attention to me, you b*stard!" he was answered with a harsh blow to the neck rendering him unconscious. Sesshoumaru calmly watched as his brother dropped like a rock to the ground. He watched with, what Kagome would have called on anyone else, mild amusement as the Inutaichi called out to their fallen comrade.

"InuYasha!" Miroku and Sango called out in unison. They rushed forward to make sure he was all right.

"InuYasha! Mama, do something!" Kagome's throat had closed up when she had tried calling to the hanyou, she switched her gaze from his body to the imposing Daiyoukai. She silently studied his form before speaking as his piercing golden eyes connected with her arctic silver-blue. _'He's taunting me.' _Somehow she _knew _he was playing with her, interested in seeing her response like a cat blocking a mouse's escape route.

"I'm sure that Sesshoumaru will not take InuYasha's life today." She managed to get out, never taking her eyes from his.

"This Sesshoumaru wonders what makes you so sure, miko?" he spoke in his usual monotone, his dokkaso (poison) starting to drip from his fingers. He would never tell her but her confident tone ticked him off, only slightly, he added.

_'Your eyes gave you away.' _Was what the light chuckle in the back of her mind wanted to say but, for once she didn't say what she wanted to. "You and I both know that if you desired to kill him the fight would have been much different."

His ego swelled at her backhanded compliment, though he did not show it. If Jaken or Rin had been with him, they would have gasped at the way his shoulder's pulled back slightly, the way his chin tipped up minutely; that was how much he allowed his body to be affected by her praise. Then her scent came to him again and he allowed his curiosity to be piqued. "Hn...Tell this Sesshoumaru, miko; what had caused this change?"

Kagome's brows furrowed slightly, confused. "Your question is too broad, what are you asking me?"

Sesshoumaru flicked his eyes to InuYasha still unconsious but now surrounded by the monk and the demon slayer before turning them back to her.

"I saw no reason to interfere with your spar. It seemed to me like you both need to blow off some steam." She shrugged, guessing the reason for his question. _'Like I'__d__ ever tell you that I love watching you fight.'_

Sesshoumaru arched a brow, surprised at her answer. _'This Onna is truly unpredictable. How... interesting.'_He would never have guessed that she would have been able to read them so clearly. On their own accord his eyes wandered down her body, trying to take in this sudden change of attire.

_'Is he checking me out?'_She gulped, desperate to keep her blush at bay. Her resolve faltered when he returned his gaze to her eyes. She blushed and the blush deepened when he smirked. Her saving grace came abruptly when a flash of the beautiful, blindingly-bright smile that Haku bestowed on her made her heart calm but then sped up again when she remembered his heartwarming affection for her.

_'Gosh, make it stop. I don't think my heart can take this.' _She really didn't understand why, all of a sudden, she has the attention of two seemingly unreachable males.

"It was a gift." she heard herself say. The confused look that Shippou wore, was not noticed by she. It seemed like a strange thing to blurt out, but, even he could see the slight question in Sesshoumaru's eyes.

"Mama, what was a gift? Who gave it to you?"

Kagome jumped slightly; she'd forgotten that Shippou was still in her arms while she went into a slight panic trying to search for a reply that would not give anything away.

Sesshoumaru was grateful to the kit for his interruption; he was not about to stoop so low as to ask her questions such as that.

"My outfit, Shippou. It's called a Hanfu; originated from the Han dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. Um, a.. _special_ friend gave it to me, I guess." Her knowledge once again astounded Sesshoumaru. _'It would appear that she has been educated. But, why then does she normally wear clothes fit for a whore?' _Knowledge concerning the empire across the sea was hard to obtain; know he found himself curious to find out where she had come from to be privy to such information.

"Who's your special friend?" The kit asked.

"If I told you, you wouldn't know them anyway. So do still want to know?"

"I guess not." Shippou figured it must have been from someone in her time. Still curious, he was about to go into his ten-questions phrase when a voice interrupted him.

"Miko." His voice was a rumble, not yet a growl, but low enough to send a warning. Sesshoumaru was not sure why he wanted to have her attention back and what he wanted to say to her; though he basted in the satisfaction he felt when she yielded her attention back to him immediately.

Kagome was confused. _'What does he want?' _Then she saw it, the knowing look in his eyes. She blinked, her heart beat erratically in her chest, and he was suddenly a breath away from her. She stood frozen as he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"What were you doing, Miko? You are covered in a scent of an Alpha Male and it does not belong to the half-breed, though he is hardly alpha material."

A barrier flared into existence, her barrier she realized belatedly, and blasted Sesshoumaru away. Kagome was thankful for the instinctual reaction but could not stop the shiver that ran down her spine at how close the Daiyoukai had been; she could still feel his warm breath on her ear. The sight of his landing and the glare he gave her brought back some clarity to her mind, pushing the fear back.

"Since when have you start caring about my business, Sesshoumaru? Last time I checked I wasn't within your notice." She sniffed, trying to sound confident, important. It failed.

A sadistic smirk, one she had often seen just before he delivered a fatal blow crept onto his face. "... Humans are such _fickle _creatures." the small sentence was spoken softly but it sounded like thunder to Kagome. He made it sound like some curse. She could do nothing as she watched him turned and walk away.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

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><p><strong>Thank You for those that reviewed.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

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><p><strong>A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire<strong>

Chapter 5

_'How dare he! How dare that arrogant, snobby, judgemental dog accuse me of being fickle! Curse that stuck-up icicle to dark fae's kingdom and back! Not only did he s__peak __of something he knew _nothing_about__ but he left behind such mess for me to pick up!' _

Kagome was fuming. It was later that day, the sun had set and Kagome had demanded that InuYasha rest so he didn't go and hurt himself too badly. Miroku, Sango and even Shippou looked at her suspiciously, as if she were about to do something forbidden and immoral. InuYasha was starting to look at her like that too. She knew it was half-paranoia, she _had _just been proposed to by a water god, and a decent bit of her anger was do to Sesshoumaru and his rude exit. She could not forget about how much she was changing as well. Her new view on the world made her think too much and left her wanting for more energy.

It was night time and the Inutaichi had decided to make camp not too long ago. There was a tense atmosphere around them as tensions were high due to the morning's confrontation and Kagome's unwillingness to provide information. As much as Kagome wanted to appease the situation, she felt that she was entitled to her privacy and that the way her companions interrogated her for answers made her feel like a criminal. She did not believe that she should ever have to experience such discomfort from people she deemed as her friends. So she remained silent and evaded their questions; however non-subtly she thought appropriate.

It was around midnight and everyone had fallen asleep, even InuYasha. For once the hanyou allowed himself to fall into a deep and peaceful slumber, but his senses were still on alert. Sleep, however, was not in company with Kagome this evening. Try as she might, her mind would not rest. She forced herself to remain motionless as she gazed up at the celestial night sky. The miko watched the brilliant blue-white and the occasional red stars glow and twinkle, causing a alluring effect in the dark sky. She was unconsciously seeking out the many constellations all the while her mind wondered off to a similar night sky, except where the area around her was different. Where the shape of a sleeping monk was a fallen log and where the demon slayer slept to where the hanyou dreamed was a spring.

As if her brain had a mind of its own (which she thought to be quite a funny thing to wonder), a song came to mind, Harry Potter's theme song: Hedwig's theme. She had to stiffle back an outburst of giggles. Her hands moved to cover her trembling lips but she could not stop the huge smile on her face that replaced it just seconds later. She was tempted to voice out the incantation: Wingardium Laviosa, just to see if she was a witch herself. '_Hey, it's not like I don't have supernatural powers. It might just work!' _

The imaginary bubble of her happiness was cruelly destroyed by a sharp pain striking down her spine. Kikyou have made her entrance. Kagome clenched her teeth tightly and held her breath. She held back the ripples of frustration as the sounds of rustled fabric and light footsteps reached her ears, a tell-tale sign of InuYasha's sneak-away.

Her lightened moment had been thoroughly eradicated. Kagome sighed a shaky breath. Her mind was a void; she did not allow another thought to run. She extracted herself from the warmth of her sleeping bag and freely gave control to her feet. Without a care she allowed her form to disappear beyond the lines of trees.

As she walked to an unknown destination she caught a glimpse of Kikyou's soul catchers hovering lazily in the distance. A cold wind blew and she shivered, partly because of the temperature but a greater part was because what was carried by the wind. Her exhalation was shaky as she felt a sequence of pulsation of familiar reiki and youki. Her body felt numb. In the back of her mind, she acknowledged another part of her heart had collapsed; a million pieces decorated the obsidian ground of her voided mind.

Her feet unconsciously picked up 'its' pace, her eyes gazed ahead unseeing and her reiki worked overtime to look out for danger, both youkai and non-youkai. Lands rushed past her unnoticed as her heart yearned and screamed for one being, The River God, Haku.

She did not know how or when she entered his clearing but the next thing she knew she was encased in his warmth. She allowed the tears she had held back with great exertion on her journey to break and flow freely down her cheeks.

She can hear soothing sound of Haku's voice but was unable to comprehend the actual meaning. Her brain had switched to hibernation mode. She was so tired. She let her eyes rest for a moment, it was so much easier to just let go and fall into the sweet seduction of sleep.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

When consciousness crept onto her next, she felt warm and safe. She felt well rested, her whole body was soothed in blissfullness. Her hazy eyes opened to find herself on a large bed in an unknown room. She did not have the time to look around the room as her attention was immediately stolen by the gentle hand that caressed her cheek. Blue eyes locked with green, like their first meeting. A smile played across her face, triggered by Haku's own, followed by a rosy hue flushing her cheeks as she shyly turned her eyes and watched as she covered his larger hand with her own smaller one.

"I'm glad," his voice barely over a whisper.

She turned her gaze back to him, eyeing him with a question. "Glad?"

"You came back to me." Kagome suddenly felt uncomfortable. His answer caused her to feel guilty' she didn't intend to come back just yet, only to get away from her own problems, if that made sense.

Seeing her confusion he elaborated. "I'm glad that you're not sad, at least not now. You may not have intented to return so soon but your instinct have brought you back and that is enough for now."

"...I'm here," She told him, if only to confirm it for herself. "I'm happy." Just being around him made her feel light-hearted, he was the barrier that kept the negative feelings away. At the same time though, she felt guilty and shameful that she left her duty and her friends behind. "I hate the Shikon no tama. Why did it have to be me?"

The question left her lips uncensored. She had never voiced out this specific thought before. It felt good to get it off her chest. Her eyes meet his, showing him just how vulnerable and delicate she was. She looked so young, a child burden by a harsh destiny. "Am I really a reincarnation?"

Haku had no idea where that last question had come from. Struggling to understand, he fumbled with his words; "A reincarnation... why would you ask such a question?"

"Kikyou, the previous shikon miko. Someone told me that she and I shared a soul." her hand tightened on his as her eyes nearly glazed over in defeat and shame.

Although the name was unfamiliar to him, the way that his intended said it broke his heart. "It is a lie. It is not possible to share a soul, at least not in the sense that you implied."

She looked at him slightly skeptically, waiting for him to elaborate his answer. A light chuckle escaped her as she recognised that she was enthusiastic for the knowledge he could provide. "A soul is like a flower, even when it's petals fall from it's home the flower will always be a flower and its petals will always remain as petals no matter if it was used by another flower or created into something else. Does a rose not smell of a rose when it is called by another name?"

"Then how did the witch bring back Kikyou using my soul?" The pieces were beginning to fit together in Haku's mind, though he decided not to pry too deeply, lest he offend his fiancee.

"An abomination," Kagome was shocked that he would say such thing but had to silently agree with him. "tell me more about this."

Kagome nodded eagerly, though inside she was still shivering from the lingering memory of having her soul purposefully taken. "She was brought back from a ritual that this witch did using Kikyou's bones and graveyard soil. I think she used my soul to power her spell, or something."

Haku paused, looking over Kagome's shoulder in thought. "How is she maintaining her time on earth then?"

"She uses soul catchers," the thought of those parasites caused her to shiver. "to steal souls of young women, I think. I'd rather not; it's creepy."

"Hm...What does she do with the soul?"

Kagome made a face of disgust. "She _eats_them."

He frowned. This _Kikyou _had been a miko on her time on this land, to be still alive and to devour souls of women would surely go against her previous nature. "Why is she still walking the land?"

Hurt entered Kagome's eyes along with anger. "InuYasha, ...he loves her."

Haku was quiet.

She forced herself to continue. "They were _together_when she still lived. I don't know the extent of their relationship. I don't think I want to know. Anyway, they were deceived by a bandit, who later turned into Naraku - the evil unnatural hanyou that roams the land now and Kikyou died thinking that InuYasha betrayed her just after she sealed him to the God Tree in the village of Edo."

"Has he been unsealed; how did it happen?" Kagome's story seemed to be a whole lot more complicated that that of a travelling miko who accidentally bathed in a water god's spring.

"Ah...I kinda had to do it because I needed his help because a centipede youkai was about to eat me." She acted... _embarrased. _

"Ah, then I must thank him for saving you. He now acts as you protector does he not?" She said his name like a friend, he just guessed what he could from her tone and open gestures.

"Hai..." her voice trailed off. "Lately, I don't feel like I'm under his protection. Does it makes sense for him to care more about the clay-body Kikyou's safety than me, who has a living body?"

"It is illogical of him to think so."

"That what I thought... and.. .he would not believe me when I told him she tried to kill me." She sighed. "After the first two times I stopped telling him."

"I'm taking a guess and say that InuYasha is a dog youkai?"

She nodded, then decided to correct him. "A hanyou actually."

He nodded and gave a dismissal flick of the risk. Haku had guessed as much. Dog youkai, or hanyou, were infernally loyal; it was easy to tell that she had picked up on a few of the hanyou's mannerisms. "Then I must question where his loyalty belongs. From what you have told me I believe that his loyalty is to this Kikyou first and far most."

His words made her feel a sharp pain in her heart like a brutal puncture from a sharp arrow. Kagome took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. She felt like crying again, her eyes began to sting but she stubbornly forced it back.

"I feel like a fool."

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Beta: Tokahlia (**you're awesome!)

**"Thank!" to my reviewers: KalGal, Veraozao, KillerQueen18**

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><p><strong>A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire<strong>

**Chapter 6**

Kagome arrived back to camp just as dawn broke through the horizon. She was greatly surprised when she noted how early it was as she felt very well rested. She really did not want to return to the group mainly because of InuYasha (he was bound to be in a grumpy mood after losing to Sesshoumaru) but she could not abandon her other companions, especially her kit, Shippou. She noticed that InuYasha had not returned yet and was glad for it. A confrontation with him was not what she wanted; especially so early in the day. She made her way to where Shippou laid inside her sleeping bag and sat near him, leaning back on a tree. Kagome made herself comfortable and firstly laced her index finger with her reiki before waving an intricate symbol in the air. The blue symbol hovered in the air and she reached her hand out and into it. Her hand sunk in like water.

"Art of sealing: Memoir of Higurashi Shinou." She whispered.

Kagome pulled her hand back after she felt an object contact her hand and grabbed hold of it. An old leather-bounded book that appeared to be well preserved came out of the seal within her hold. As soon as the object came all the way out the symbol dispersed like a popped bubble, first shimmering out then exploded softly. Kagome watched and could not help but felt very proud of her accomplishment; her aura spiked in satisfaction and happiness. With a smile on her face she leafed though the book and stopped once she found her page-marker. Kagome gingerly lifted the pressed-flower paper to her nose and softly inhaled its scent, the sweet aroma of peach blossoms caused her fingertips to tingle pleasantly Sighing in fulfillment Kagome opened her eyes, which she hadn't noticed she'd closed, and placed the book-marker down and began reading.

**Author's note: Peach blossoms means generosity and bridal hope.**

It was not until 47 minutes later that InuYasha sneaked back into camp. His effort in making sure that no sticks snapped was for naught, for as soon as he was within a short distance outside of the Inutaichi's camp perimeter Kagome's soft voice chimed through the serene morning atmosphere.

"How was your night, InuYasha?" She spoke airily without looking up from her book.

InuYasha body froze and his heart constricted in fear. This only lasted for a short period however, instinct stubbornly rose to the surface, making him irritated and angry at her 'insolence'. He was the alpha after-all.

"What I do is none of your concern, wench!" he voice carried crudely to her as he entered the camp's clearing stomping open-legged, not minding in the least that he would rudely awaken his sleeping companions. Seeing that Kagome paid him no mind and continue to read as if he was not there caused his pseudo anger to become genuine.

"Where's my breakfast, wench? Make yourself useful before I destroy that scroll!"

_'Why did I return again?'_ Kagome mentally asked herself then soon saw the answer to her question from her peripheral vision. Shippou's serene face that quickly crumpled in displeasure due to the Inu Hanyou's loud voice and rude stomping. _'Maybe I should take him with me...'_

"Oi! Pay attention when I'm talking to you, b*tch!"

Kagome's narrowed eyes aimed at InuYasha in a flash. "Osuwari!" she snared and unconsciously practiced infusing her voice with reiki, causing InuYasha fall quadruple in damage. The impact was so strong that the ground shook like a mini earthquake. Kagome exhaled harshly a tussle of blue reiki-like tongues of fire. InuYasha did not have time to registered what happen as he lost consciousness after the fatal fourth* syllable.

"Kagome-sama"

"Ka-go-me...chan"

Kagome turned to the voices and quickly turned away with her teeth clenched at their scared expression.

"I will not apologize. He provoked me." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. The silence was tense. Kagome was really feeling the pressure and decide to break the silence. "I..." She almost faltered before swelling her chest with air and continuing on. "I have decided to leave this group." she began softly as her hands unfolded and moved to hug Shippou's small form into her body. Her eyes remained on his still sleeping face as she caressed his sunset color hair.

"Why? What? Why? Is it because of InuYasha?" Sango asked rapidly.

Kagome smiled softly, sadly. "Should I stay when my safety is no longer his main concern? Should I allow him to stand aside when a threat on my life gets ignored? My words no longer reach him Sango. What would you do in my place?"

The two females eyes connected and Sango had to looked away in shame. Her selfish desire was for Kagome to stay no matter what. She had all but lost a brother and she didn't want to loose a friend she considered a sister. It took a lot of her, but it was only then that she acknowledged that she had turned a blind eye to what Kagome had to go through. Miroku had remained silent, now turning serious eyes to the time-travelling miko and, shuffling around to seiza position, he bowed to her to hide his eyes.

"Thank you for all you've done for us thus far, Kagome-sama. Though I am saddened to see you break apart from us, I am forced to see that it is for the best." Sango whipped around to stare at him, but his overly formal position and tone kept her quiet. Even though he spoke formally, he couldn't hide the growing sadness in his voice. He looked up and their eyes met. "Just know that our friendship will not change from your departure."

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Ruby red eyes stared blankly at the numerous Shikon fragments that was placed on a compact size mirror that laid innocently on the table before him. Naraku was having one of his down time moment where he let himself forget about everything evil and just let his mind wander. If one of his minions or even an enemy were to see him, which was unlikely, seeing as he knew through his network of spies their each and ever location, they would have to do a quadruple look because none would believe their eyes that someone of Naraku's character, the epitome of evil incarnated, could possibly look so relaxed and... well, un-evil. He did not have a sneer on his face. His aura was not emanating _evil_: beware-not-to cross-me. He looked like a harmless beautiful doll that you could not help but stare at.

"What are you up to, Miko?" He murmured as his index finger moved to play with one of the darkened Shikon shards, moving it back and forth as he was lost in thought. His hypnotizing red eyes moved to the sharp shard under his fingertip and he brought it up to his eyes, placing it in the light and absentmindedly studied the many colors that reflected from the sun's ray that shined in from the open shoji door to the private garden.

A heavy sigh left his lips and Naraku leaned back, letting his body fall backwards. He took no notice as his body collide none too gently with the tatami floor. His obsidian black hair splayed around him like a dark halo contrasting greatly with his light, sallow skin tone. He closed his eyes and let his body relaxed further. Being evil all the time was really frustrating and tiring. It was at this kind of time that he question as to why he is the way he is. Why was it that he had to act the way he acted? Every one of his questions led back to the bandit Onigumo. He, Naraku, was created from the hatred, jealousy and vengeance of Onigumo. He was an abomination, something unnatural. Was it even possible to be good when you were created from evil? How was it that he came into existence in the first place. Evil is not something tangible. It is more of an idea and intention and actions that would damage others in any shape or form.

Naraku sighed again, this time his mind drifted to a random information that he had came across while reading during one of his many bored hours. The text he read came from the distant land. The text was that of the people's religion and talked about many things, one of which was about the origin of evil, the devil Satan. At the time, Naraku had scoffed and disregard the information all together. The only value he deemed the text was it made good entertainment for his boredom. Really, if Inuyasha and his group had been any slower in finding, then springing his traps Naraku would have to wait _another_ fifty years before his revenge was however, he was mildly tolerant of the idea that he might have came into existence because the devil might just be bored enough to give Onigumo's evil intentions sentience. Naraku smiled at the thought, then he chuckled. _'What are the odds that I was created out of boredom?'_

Naraku sat up at a knock on the shoji screen. Setting up the effortless barrier Naraku deemed his usual face and spoke his approval for the one waiting to come in. Kanna stepped into the room, shutting it behind her. Of course Naraku had recognised it was her, she was just a detachment of he, but the fact that she was here with him caused his eyebrows to knit minuetly.

"What is it Kanna?"

Kanna said nothing, she meerly presented him her mirror. Naraku eyed her before he turned his gaze to the shimmering mirror's surface. He watched as the mirror image focused and a projection of Kagome and the Kitsune kit appeared. The two were alone in a field of flowers. Kagome was telling the kit that she would like for him to stay put and not wander off while she practiced her ribbon dance. Naraku frowned at what she said. _'Ribbon?'_He was not sure what she was on about until he saw her brought out a string of silk ribbon that was connected to a thin stick. His thin brow raised as his interest was peaked.

Then she moved.

Never in his life had he seen anything like it. His expression betrayed him as a look of absolute fascination appeared on his face. He felt his blood rushed faster within his veins just was his heart would have beat erratically if he was to still have it within his chest. It was a strange mixture of emotions that had him acting like this. For one, he had to admit that she did look a lot like Kikyou, who, even though he _hated _himself for admitting it, he had once had feelings for. Secondly, his youkai and more calculating side saw how she could be used. She was _alone _and probably had the power to destroy armies if only trained and broken enough.

His sadistic smile appeared yet again on his face.

Oh yes, and he was the perfect man to break her. He had done it to her predecessor, how hard could a fragile, alone thing like her be?

Just as he began to start scheming on how he should approach her his irritation spiked at the sight of the frustrating, pain-in-his-side, Lord of the West, Sesshoumaru appeared within the mirror scene, silently making his way into the floral clearing that Kagome was currently occupying. The Western Lord leisurely leaned on a tree that gave him perfect view of the miko and watched with interest-as much his stoic face could express.

"Hahaue!" Shippou shouted as he rushed to Kagome's side at the sight of the Western Lord. Naraku watched, an unseen observer of this drama.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

It was the first day after Kagome had left the group and she was determined to figure out her own, close-range fighting style. She was not particularly knowledgeable with the sword or any form of weapon really except for the bow and arrow, but even then she hadn't really mastered that weapon either, yet. Kagome had been pondering on what kind of close range weapon she should use and the only thing that came to mind was her ribbons. It was something that she was familiar with as she was accustomed to it in her gymnastic days. Another reason she was leaning toward her ribbons was because of her fondness for infusing her reiki in her hands and into objects as of late. Once she had perfected the skill it had become kind of addicting, she had realised that she needed to get control of her impulses when she had been infusing her toothbrush because, she had tried to reason, you never knew when a youkai would decide to attack. Still, it was quite funny when she reminisced on that particular thought. Kagome could just imagine the looks on the demons that she would have to face, faced with her choice of weapon. Oh the deadpanned expression. That would be priceless, not that she would take a picture of it. No point in keeping tangible memories of your dead enemy right? Well, maybe of Naraku just cause he was quite attractive. Hey, he may be her arch nemesis but she isn't blind.

Now where was she? Oh right, weapon. Ribbon it was then. Now she just had to see if it would work and that would mean stopping and beginning the actual practice. '_I just hope that I can still do all the moves.' _

"Shippou, honey, we'll stop her for a while. Don't wander around okay?"

Shippou gave her a curious look, his head tilted slightly to a side. "Why are we stopping? Are you hungry, mama?" turning his head to sun determining the hour.

Kagome shook her head. "No, I was just thinking that it would be a good time for me to try out something. I want to see if I can use my skills with the ribbon for battle."

Shippou frowned. "Ribbon?" he knew them as objects women tied into their hair, often more than they needed and as things that he used to hold up unruly hair. The young kit worried for his mother for a moment, the toothbrush fiasco replaying in his mind. _'That might be it!' _He nodded and let her place him down from her hip. He watched in interest as she drew one of her squiggly symbols in the air and pulled out a...stick? Comprehension came to him when she saw that the then stick was connected to the ribbon, a very long ribbon.

"So what are you going to do with that? I don't get it."

She smirked. "You'll see."

Kagome twirled the ribbon on the ground a few times, then began to try (and fail) at doing a routine she had half-forgotten from before. Seeing the humorous glint in Shippou's eyes she blushed and tried again, only for the ribbon to fall flat.

It continued on like this for a few minutes, until Kagome realised that she should really be practising again, instead of trying to do it perfectly in one go. Over the following days her skills gradually improved until she was able to do one of her simpler routines without the ribbon awkwardly becoming lax or tangling around one of her limbs. By imagining that she was fighting youkai she added more offensive and defensive moves to her steadily growing movements. Often she would just zone out and remember some of the fights she had seen, would replay them in her minds and then begin her dance based on those memories.

It was when she had zoned out like that when Sesshoumaru first saw her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do Not own Inuyasha**

**Beta and Co-author: Tokahlia**

**Thanks for reviewing:** Veraozao, tsuirakuangel, Sin of the Fallen, aurla0

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><p><strong>A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire<strong>

Chapter 7

Lord Sesshoumaru told himself that the reason he was watching his brother's_ former_ miko was not because of any_ personal_ interest and that he was _not _peeping on her. He had followed the girl from afar when, upon trailing the half-breed's scent he had found her and the kit's scent had split from the rest of the group. Between patrolling his lands and searching for Naraku, Sesshoumaru had managed to keep an eye on the priestess in his spare time.

Which was why, when she started doing a routine very similar to his poison-whip fighting style, he became perplexed. Unseen, he leaned against a tree and watched as she leaped and twirled with a ribbon, picking up openings she made and figuring out ways to prevent them as an afterthought. He had to admit, though her moves would never equal his grace, she was pretty good. When she huffed and flopped herself on the ground he tilted his head minutely in confusion. He watched with interest as she drew something in the air and was shocked to see some type of seal form with her reiki. She murmured something that he did not understand and an odd looking object came out of the seal before the seal shimmered and disappeared with a pop.

The inu youkai silently as she fiddled with the object and became more confused when a sweet melody ringed through the air. Everything about the melody was different, there were instruments he had never heard before; even the sound of the music was different. It bewildered his mind and he stored away the memory of the music away in his mind for further contemplation.

The onna now had her eyes closed as she listened intently to the melody; she looked like she was trying to remember something. A short while later, she set the object down and resumed her _training_. Her movement was much more graceful but did not at all resemble a battle dance, instead it was more of a dance for entertainment. It was... beautiful. Sesshoumaru could not believe that she, never mind any human, was able to move like that. At times, she appeared to be boneless. He noted a few strange moves, to incorporate into his own death-dances.

**Aurthor's note: /W8OpvZb2Al4 - this is the link to youtube**

And then the stupid kit had to give away Sesshoumaru's position.

"Hahaue!" Sesshoumaru twitched at the voice but made no motion to move. He had been caught. If he were anyone else, Sesshoumaru would have sighed. The daikyoukai inwardly curses his high sense of honour and duty. If he had been some low-life he would have sprinted away from the, though he dared not admit it aloud, slightly-embarrassing prospect of explaining himself. He strode purposely to the pair, making it seemed as if it was his intention in the first place. Though he was slightly put off when the miko only had a curious and expectant look on her slightly flushed face he did not let it come out on his stoic expression.

Kagome was mentally panicking. _'He saw me!' _It had been so long since she had performed and he had watched her! Not that she would admit it to anyone, but she greatly valued his opinion for the simple fact that he. Did. Not. Lie. Was it crazy to be worrying more about what he had thought of her ribbon dance than her life?

"Sesshoumaru-sama," she bowed, mentally patting herself on the back for a job well done in keeping her voice neutral and hiding her nervousness away securely, at least for the moment.

"Hn." He did not say another word until he was right before her. Why he stood so close to her she did not know, intimidation factor was he best guess; she refrained herself from thinking more on the subject. "An... interesting performance, miko."

Her heart jumped! She gazed up at him in shock. She gulped. Was it a trick of the light or was there a flicker of humour in his gaze? "Is there something that you want, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Hn. You are alone." he stated. From his tone Kagome filled in the blanks; _'Do not think I was spying on you. I am merely wondering why you aren't with that brother of mine.' _Her mind's version of Sesshoumaru was surprisingly verbal.

Shippou looked like he would like to retort but remained silent do to fear of the intimidating daiyoukai. Sesshoumaru, of course, had noted the presence of the kit; he _had _been the first one to notice the inu.

Kagome's eyes lingered on her adopted son, not wanting to hurt the lord's ego by mentioning out loud that they weren't alone.

"I am aware of the kit. This one wonders why you have left the hanyou's pack." Mind Sesshoumaru came alive again in Kagome's brain. _'Of course I noticed Shippou, I'm not blind. Now you better tell me why you left or else I will force it out of you.' _The challenging shine in his features did not go unnoticed by Kagome. Suddenly her last meeting with her first love's brother reasserted itself in her mind. _'Humans are such _fickle _creatures.'_

Kagome held her hands behind her back as she spat out the next point, not wanting to loose a jabbing finger to the lord. "No! I wouldn't leave the group to be with someone else, _milord. _Your brother just got on my bad side one too many times!"

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow but was otherwise silent. "This Sesshoumaru..." he seemed to take in her emotional state with a critical eye before formulating the rest of his responce. "does not believe that you have adequate skills."

"For what?" she nearly shouted, incredulous.

"Survival."

"I..." Kagome wanted to argue but she really did not know what to say. She was sure that he would pick up on her lie a mile away. Her mind was in chaos trying to look for something to say in a frame of two seconds. "You're right. I lack survival skills." She locked eyes with him. "Even still, it was best that I separate from InuYasha."

Sesshoumaru waited for her to elaborate but she did not do as he wished. "Where will you go from here?"

Kagome smiled. She could not helped herself. "Why do you want to know, Sesshoumaru-sama?" _'It almost seems like you care.'_

Sesshoumaru was perplexed at her smile. Smiling in his presence was almost unheard of , except for those given by Rin. "Do not make the mistake to think that This one to cares for your well being; however, it has come to This one's attention that his ward, Rin, is in need of a tutor." Sesshoumaru reasoned with himself that this _was _true; he had been trying to get the girl to take lessons with youkai tutors but most of the time it had ended with Rin running to him, crying about a 'meanie sensei' who would insult her humanity. Though the miko acted strangely Sesshoumaru could tell that she had been educated; add that to the fact that Rin already trusted the onna and she was the obvious choice. He also reasoned with himself that he did not want to take her under his protection because he wanted to keep her close to figure her out, she was such a puzzle.

"Really?" She blurted out without thinking, it was almost a reflex. She was so surprised. Her arctic silver-blue eyes shined in joy and she smiled brightly, almost blindingly, making Sesshoumaru slightly nervous and almost unsure as to how to react.

So he said the only thing he figured would be appropriate. "Hn."

Laughter pearled from Kagome's lips. His answer was just _so_ typical of Sesshoumaru and for once she could not help but to find it charming. Was it wrong to find this predator _cute_? She would never dare to say it out loud, ever. If a knife was against her throat and the only way she could survive would be to say that Sesshoumaru was cute, she would let them slit her throat. It would be a whole lot less messy that way. Only in the safety of her mind would she utter this endearing adjective to describe Sesshoumaru. She finally calmed down when she saw the glare he sent her, through it really ignited more laughter but she forced herself to calm down. A sweet smile was the reminate of her laughter, she bowed elegantly. "I would be honored to be employed as your ward's tutor, Sesshoumaru-sama. As long as I may still continue my quest for the Shikon shards."

Sesshoumaru snorted. "Rin does not leave This one's side. And as Naraku is still not dead you may accompany This one as he hunts the hanyou."

Kagome had to crushed down another bubble of laughter. She found the Inu Daiyoukai's pride very adorable for some reason at the moment. It might have been because she just found her new hobby in him. It amused her greatly at how fun it was to translate with he said in her mind. He was just so... predictable that it was funny. She mentally giggled. "Thank you for accepting us, Sesshoumaru-sama." she said as formally and as sincerely as she could.

A small twitch formed on the corner of Sesshoumaru's left eyebrow. Right... the kit. He was irritated at the miko's unpredictable responses. The happy smile and joyful light in her eyes made him uncomfortable. This type of reaction and emotion was not what he was accustomed to, at least at this scale. Rin was still a child so her mood changes were bound to happen. However, he ruefully mused, he began to wonder if quickly-switching-moods was a requirement for human females.

"Come." He turned and walked away.

"W-wait Sesshoumaru-sama! I have to pack my things first!"

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

"Jaken-sama, when do you think Sesshoumaru-sama will be back? Rin is bored, Jaken-sama."

"Quit whining you insolent child. Sesshoumaru-sama is a Lord. He has a lot of work to do. And I don't care if you're bored." the green kappa huffed, folding his arms inside his sleeve.

Rin sighed. "Jaken-sama is such a meanie. You like me right, Ah-Un?"

Said dragons first wrapped around her body for a hug before Ah, the head on the left nuzzled her cheek, eliciting a giggle. She was in the middle of scratching Ah's ears when her Sesshoumaru senses started to tingle. The young girl's head snapped to the far left and she quickly extracted herself from the dragon's hold and skipped/ran to the camped perimeter and stopped. She swayed back and forth on the heels of her feet, eagerly awaiting her lord's entrance.

"Welcome back, Sesshoumaru-sama!" she pronounced happily. Her joy at seeing him turned gleeful when she caught sight of her favorite nee-chan! "Kagome-sama! You're here!" she was now hopping up and down. She turned her eyes to Sesshoumaru who gave her an almost nod. Her smile widened, almost painfully for those who could see and ran to the miko.

"Rin is so happy you'll be staying with us, Kagome-sama!"

"Hello Rin, how are you?" She patted the girl on the head, smiling down at her. Kagome was a little surprised that the girl had figured out what she was doing, but, she reasoned, Rin had probably realised that Sesshoumaru wasn't a big talker. Off-handedly she wondered if her own skills of deduction would improve.

"Rin is well, thank you for asking."

"Hey, Rin!"

The voice cause the young girl to turn and she waved enthusiastically to the young Kitsune. "Hi, Shippou!"

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

As the two children caught up with each other their conversation soon went off into a different tangent. Kagome smiled at them but didn't drop her stuff at the camp site. She wasn't sure whether or not they would stay there for the night and didn't want to make Sesshoumaru think she was lazy. It was almost dark; Sesshoumaru's demon speed had made the journey to where Kagome had been faster on the way there than having to walk at Kagome's quickened pace. However, Kagome was used to a certain hanyou pushing her group until well after the sun had set.

Almost telepathically Sesshoumaru began to speak. "We are camping here for the night. There is a hot spring to the North if you wish to bathe yourself." Kagome burst out into a grin that rivalled Rin's, dropped her satchel at her feet then ran over to the children to announce bath time.

Sesshoumaru found it almost amusing to see her jubilant reaction to something so mundane as bathing. Her happy scent must be contagious because he was feeling oddly refreshing and on impulse ran head off to hunt just as Kagome's silhouette disappeared. He adamantly told himself that he was not doing so to impress her, not at all. Why would the great diayoukai of the west waste time trying to impress a ningen?

The scenery around him blurred. He could feel the cool gust of wind rushing through his hair and flutter his clothes. The sounds of the approaching night ringed pleasantly in his sensitive ears; he relished in the familiarity of it. It was the first sign, the sound of undisturbed nature. His keen ears listened and soon he found the sequences of heartbeats he was looking for, he had found his prey. He made beeline forward his target, making no sound at all to a human ear. As the animal bent down to eat some more vegetation Sesshoumaru pounced, slitting the serow's throat with practised precision.

He flicked the blood off his claws like one would do to a bloodied katana; without mercy he watched, an outsider, as the goat-antelope's life-blood drained out into the ground. Sesshoumaru rolled up his sleeves and as quickly as possible gutted the animal, only leaving in the now mostly empty carcass juicy morsels such as the liver and heart. Once this was done the Lord of the West slung the animal over his back and calmly ran back to camp, reassuring himself that they _did _in fact need this meat and that _no,_travel portions would not be good enough to welcome a new member to his group.

Kagome was, simply put, surprised. She was shocked actually at the hospitality that Sesshoumaru showed her upon her return from the bath. Not to say that he was anything less then his stoic and indifference self because he was just as cold as ever, should she just took his actions as... obligated etiquette? _'Yeah, lets just go with that. Seriously though, Sesshoumaru, nice? no way!' _

Kagome had remained silent since she had gotten back. At the moment she was currently staring at Sesshoumaru, and, though she tried, it wasn't very inconspicuous. She realized that it was very rude of her but she just couldn't wrap her mind around the phenomenon that Seshoumaru was being courteous to her. He hunted, by the astonished look on Rin's face she guessed it was for her and prepared the meal. Said meal was currently roasting away on the open flame not too far way.

"Miko, cease your staring." His golden eyes bored in on her. Kagome inwardly shied from the force of his gaze. If he were anyone else there would be a prominent frown on his handsome face. She did not react immediately to his words; simply blinked lazily a few times before drawing a seal in the air. She seemingly did not took notice of his calculating gaze.

"Tea set." she whispered and out came a cane basket, inside was a beautiful tea set, folded neatly in spare cloth to stop clinking and chips. She gently set them down.

"Tea leaves assortment." Kagome held the assortment of connected boxes in her hand and ponder for a moment which flavor of tea she should serve. Her mind shifted for a brief second to what Sesshoumaru would like but she was quick to push that thought away as she did not know him well enough to even guess. _'Still, he is being pretty nice...'_

Mind made up, she carefully stood up and made her way to him. Her eyes met his and she unconsciously thought back to the posture of an traditional hostess and mimicked the posture impulsively. Her back straightened, her arms leveled parallel to the ground and her feet touched the ground lightly, each steps measured. She kneeled before him then sit back on her folded legs and presented her assortment of tea leaves to heart beat sporadically within her chest, at a 'hn' she straightened herself upright.

"This Sesshoumaru is intrigued by the one third on your left." Kagome smiled, packing up the other leaves with ease and shoving them unceremoniously back into a seal, all the while watched with seemingly detached interest from a young human girl, an astonished kitsune and an arrogant inu lord.

Kagome drew up another seal and called forth a thermos then proceed on to making the tea. She asked Shippou to bring her tea set to her as she did not feel right to be moving from her current space in front of Sesshoumaru. She knew that it used to be considered rude for a man to see a woman standing. Shippou hesitated, looking unsure at Sesshoumaru then back at her and gave in. She was proud of him as she watched him took a deep breath and did what she asked.

"Arigatou, Shippou." she smiled.

"Your welcome, mama." he returned her smile with one of his own, chuckled bashfully at her adoring eyes.

"Do you want to help me, honey?"

"Um, sure." he nodded, though his gaze flickered to Sesshoumaru for a brief second. He turned back and took the object that Kagome handed to him.

"Hold the tea bag open for me."

"Like this?"

"Hai." she then spooned 5 teaspoons of the flavor that Sesshoumaru choose, which was peach blossom and white tea, into the bag. Shippou noticed that she was done as she put away the tea assortments back into one of her seal and tied up the bag.

"Here, mama."

"Not just yet, Shippou. I need to heat up the teapot first."

"Why?"

"So that there won't be a clash in temperature, that would make the tea loose flavor." she answered him patiently as she poured the hot water from the thermos into the ceramic teapot. She set the thermos down and picked up the tea pot, giving it a swish to move the hot liquid around within the pot. After a moment she poured out the now slightly cooler liquid then set the tea pot down. She gestured for Shippou to put the tea bag into the pot and nodded when he did so.

"Oh...are you going to do that to the cups too?"

"Hai." She answered him without taking her eyes away from what she was doing. She poured the hot water into the teapot then closed the lid then proceeded to warming up the tea cups like she did with the tea pot earlier. It was only when she finished with all of the cups that she realized her tea was not ready and by the time that it was her cups would have cooled. She quickly drew out another storage seal and called for her book on sealing. A quick look at the index then leafing through the pages, she found what she was looking for. She copied the seal then checked for mistakes, founding none, she drew the seal on each on of the cups as well as the tea pot after a moment of pause.

"What seal was that, mama?"

"Consitancy seal." She proudly ruffled her son's hair, only to pick up brown eyes gazing at them with something akin to need. Kagome wistfully smiled and opened her arms out to Rin, motioning her forward with her arms. The little girl looked towards Sesshoumaru, who gave the barest semblance of a nod, then rushed towards the miko, kneeling besides Kagome as the young woman quietly pointed out some of the finer points of tea making.

The, still stoic, Sesshoumaru watched as the miko degraded slowly but surely from her formal position of before to a laughing and, though not rude, still otherwise less restrained. Although he regretted the etiquette lessons he would have to, no doubt, force onto his ward he couldn't help but almost smile as the woman handled the children with expert care. He watched as she strayed further and further from her current duties as she babbled nonsense to the two young children. Although he hated to draw attention to himself, and, for some reason, hated disrupting her rambling, there was a very important thing he had to get off his mind.

The daiyoukai of the west cleared his throat softly; immediately all attention was upon him. That's what happened when he could kill everyone in an heartbeat. He waited a heart-beat then assessed his pack mates bar Jaken, who was sitting far away.

He stared first into the eyes of the fox kit, who blinked in instinctual subservience. Then he moved along to his ward Rin, who's chocolate eyes warmed when they caught his cold ones before respectfully lowering to her knees, something she had picked up from who-knows where. The last pair of eyes his settled upon were those of the miko. The inner confusion and the hint of mirth that were found in her grey-blue irises gave no indication that she would break her gaze. Sesshoumaru, had he been a lesser youkai, would have sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Instead he merely opened his mouth.

"Miko. This one has something to say." His voice was deeper than usual, probably explained by his unneeded throat clearing.

Kagome blushed, "Yes Sesshoumaru-sama?" from such a short distance away he could hear her heart-beat speed he smirked, already giant ego boosted by her unknowing compliment.

"Sesshoumaru?" Her voice brought him back from his wonderings.

The inu-youkai paused, trying to find the appropriate words. "Your tea has finished brewing."

"Ha! gomei. Thank you for reminding me." Her cheek dusted with a soft rosy tint as she turned her eyes to the innocent looking teapot. She took a silent deep breath and slightly pulled back the sleeves of her sleeping yukata that she had changed into after her bath, and gracefully began serving the tea. She smiled at the calming sounds of water hitting the ceramic surface of the cups and watched in interest as each cups filled. She set the tea pot down and gingerly picked up the first cup and presented it to the daiyoukai with both hands.

"Your tea, Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Hn." He took the cup from her, his fingers gazed hers in a feather-light touch. He thanked his own sword that rested at his side for giving him back his arm. A sucker for respect, not being able to accept her gift with both hands would have shamed him. He sniffed the scent of the sweet tea as he brought the cup to his lips. Behind the china he hid his smile as he took a sip. His eyes watching intently at the blush that spread across her face. He could have sighed in contentment as the sweet aroma of the tea was mixed with the intoxicating scent of the Miko. Sesshoumaru paused, the refreshment still in his mouth as he pondered that thought. Yes, he decided, he would admit that her scent was pleasing. It was hard to find a human who kept clean. As he swallowed he inwardly smirked as her heartbeat reacted to his simple actions. The taste of the tea was exquisite.

"D... do you like it, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Hn." Kagome sweat-dropped at his answer. Her still pounding heart revealed her nervousness about his opinion. All he had given her was a one word answer. _'Is 'hn' even a word?'_

She took a deep breath in place of a shrug and put a smile on her face and offered tea to the others. Shippou and Rin thanked her and happily drank their teas, giving her compliments on it's taste. She finally picked up her own cup and was about to take a sip when she noticed Jaken on her peripheral vision. She placed her cup on her lap on top of her palm and turned her head to the imp.

"Jaken, would you like a cup?"

The imp glared and turned away in a huff. Kagome frowned and mentally shrugged then turned back to her tea. She brought the cup to her lips again only to notice that Sesshoumaru's cup was now empty. She move the china from her lips again as she looked up to his face to see that he was watching the flames. _'He's probably checking on the roasting deer.'_As if feeling her eyes on him, he turned his gaze to her. Kagome oh-so-wanted to roll her eyes at the smug and content expression that was painted on his face but knew that it probably wouldn't be good for her in the long run.

She shook her head and placed her cup down neatly. She picked up the teapot from its handle and refilled his cup with more grace than she thought she'd ever posses. It was probably in the way she stuck out her tongue.

She was about to take a sip of her tea again when the sound of the children made her cringe.

"Mama, another cup please!"

"Kagome-sama, Rin too!"

Kagome pressed her lips together and robotically set her cup down _again._She successfully put on a sweet smile, through it was too sweet of a smile, and pick up the teapot once more.

"Sure, honey."

From the corner of her eye she could see the sparkling twinkle of amusement in Sesshoumaru's eyes. He had definitely noticed her mood. _'Stupid inu youkai and their nose; oh! and eyes too. __Eyes are very perceptive.__'_

And so, Kagome settled back onto her heels, taking a careful breath in and raising the cup to her lips almost ceremoniously. She was so close, her mouth started drooling a little at the thought of finally having something to drink.

A certain Western Lord cleared his throat and as she opened her eyes there, in front of her knees, next to the tea pot, was an emptied cup; two clawed hands slowly retreating back to an inu youkai's side. Kagome openly gaped. There was no way he could have had the tea that quickly, it was impossible! Huffing at her early attempts to try and seem like a mature person Kagome angrily whacked her cup onto the ground, poured the youkai a quick cup of tea and all but shoved it in his face.

Excruciatingly slowly two clawed hands with magenta stripes reached up to the cup. When his hands finally did grab the cup Kagome was forced to hold it longer. He was teasing her, she realised as bit by bit he took the weight off the cup from her hands. When he had finally taken enough pressure off Kagome eagerly reached back to her cup.

Then he said the worst possible thing. With one hand he carelessly raised his cup and whispered just loud enough for the children, still sipping on their cups, to hear.

"Kanpai."

Kagome watched, horror stricken as the three others eagerly downed what was left of their tea and placed it in front of their host.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

The miko was too easy. Sesshoumaru knew that being a sadist was usually frowned upon but he couldn't understand how anyone would ever not want to be one. Watching the young girl's hopes crush with a single word had made him almost giddy, eliciting a slight chuckle from the impassive lord.

After he had said the last word she had wanted to hear the priestess had angrily snatched up her cup, told Rin to practise her skills in tea pouring and sullenly marched over away from the group, but close enough to still be warm from the fire.

Curse her, he thought, for discovering his weakness. For Rin Sesshoumaru had been forced to act kind, she tried so hard to impress him. But, unlike a certain miko, he knew he wouldn't be as enjoyable to wind up. Instead of pretty blushes he would be subjugated to tears and, most likely, angry stares from disappointed women. Ah, his life was full of woe. He had just been getting started.

"Daijobu, mama?"

Kagome looked up from her Literature book to see Shippou concerned face. She smiled to reassure the young kit.

"I'm fine, Shippou. Is there something you want?"

"You're not angry?"

"No, I'm fine now," at the disbelieving look on Shippou's face she continued, "What? I'm not mad anymore!" Kagome asserted

"Ha! So you _were_mad. Why?" he pointed a finger at her.

"No pointing, Shippou. It's rude."

"Mama, you didn't answer the question. Nande?" Darnit, he hadn't changed the subject.

"Hm..." She peeked a glance at the Inuyoukai then leaned in and whispered into Shippou's ear. "Sesshoumaru was being a meanie."

"Eh? honto? (really?)" She nodded. "When? what did he do?"

Before she could answer, a deep voice reached a ears.

"Miko," Sesshoumaru face was as stoic as ever when she turned to face him. "the meat is done."

Her mouth watered. She eagerly nodded and made her way to the flame and began to serve the meat. She brought out plates and eating utensil then set them aside. She drew another seal and brought out a carving knife and fork then began carving the food. Her mouth watered even more when she saw how juicy it was. Just as she was finished plating each plates an idea hit her and she moved steadfast with a multitude of seals and created a variety of sauces to go with the meat. She added the additional disks of sauces to each plates then garnished the meat with a sprinkle of parsley and basil. She sat back and scan the plated dishes.

"If only there was a side of salad..." she murmured. _'Oh well. __Next time I have a bath I'll try and find some greens to eat.__'_

Kagome took a deep breath then made her way to the Inu lord with the stray of plates in hand. Shippou was now seated on Rin's right, her left was taken up by Sesshoumaru, or was Rin seated at Sesshoumaru's right, Kagome wondered. Even Jaken had joined the group, though he sat a bit further away. Kagome silently set one plate in front of each person and refilled their teacups, shooting one don't-even-think-about-it glare at Sesshoumaru then sat back and waited.

Sesshoumaru silently observed the onna. He felt a sent of satisfaction that he held all of her attention. A mischievous snake slithered into his conscious making his eyes gleam for an ephemeral moment. He move his clawed hand forward slowly. He inwardly chuckled at the light of excitement in her eyes. _'So eager, Miko?'_

His hand made a turn and he watched as her face nearly fall and anger enter her exotic silver-blue orbs. _'Such unique eyes,'_He wondered why he never noticed that her eyes were mesmerizing. Sesshoumaru let his median finger ringed around the rim of the porcelain cup and hid a smile as the arc of her left eyebrow twitched and a small bit of confusion entered her eyes. Finally he decided to end her torture and picked up his chopsticks. He picked up a thinly slice piece of meat and dip it in the sauce closest to him. He nearly closed his eyes as the flavor exploded on his tongue.

"Hn." He gave he onna an almost appraising look in his eyes.

Oh how Kagome wished she had a stress ball. _'Him and his cursed '__**hn'**__ answer! What's wrong with speaking like a normal person? Oh right, he's not normal! __And not a person either. Technically.__'_

The rest of the meal passed in near silence. The children quickly ate their fill before Kagome ushered them to bed, neatly tucking them in without much fuss. But then again, that did constitute to Shippou turning into a pink balloon and Rin throwing a minor hissy fit. However Kagome handled the situation easily, at least Shippou hadn't been cranky before bedtime, all hell would have broken use. Once the two children were asleep, Jaken had fallen asleep near them, resting against the trunk of a tree.

Kagome burrowed into her sleeping-bag and rolled over to a tree near the fire and, inadvertently, nearer to Sesshoumaru. He looked up at the sound of the futuristic material against itself, quirked an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent. Mind Sesshoumaru made a come-back - _'This one is curious concerning your sleeping arrangements but finds it below himself to make a query.'_

"It's a type of sleeping blanket from my ti-home." Kagome caught onto her little blurb before she accidentally revealed her secret. Sesshoumaru gave a hint of a nod in response. Just as Kagome began to fall asleep she felt a sudden rush of Haku's grace tumble over her. It seemed confused, worried and angry. A growl made her open her eyes, thought lazily, but, the rush of youki flowing from Sesshoumaru made her scramble upright. By the time her eyes adjusted to the light all she could see was Sesshoumaru's annoyed sneer.

Kagome's eyes bugged out in alarm. She could feel the tugs in her aura and knew instinctively that Haku was calling for her.

"Miko, explain!" He growled just above a whisper.

"I..." Another tug, stronger than before called her her attention. Kagome did not know what to do, her head moved back and forth between Sesshoumaru's sneering face and the direction of the blowing wind, north of their location.

"Who is summoning you, Miko?"

Sesshoumaru starked towards her. "A lover?" He sniffed her scent.

"None of your concern!" She hissed while kept in mind not to raise her voice. Her heart thumped like a hummingbird. He scared her.

"Wrong. You are now under this Sesshoumaru's protection; therefore, who you associate with is This One's business."

Kagome was angry. _'He has no right!'_She was about to slash tongue at him when she felt another tug, it felt desperate and filled with concern and a hint of anger that was not aimed at her.

"Answer, miko. This one does not repeat himself."

Kagome bared her teeth at him. "I do not have to tell you anything!"

Red bled into his eyes but he stopped it half-way. He took a deep cleaning breath. Her time with his sorry excuse of a brother had made her secretive. She had obviously absorbed some of his more appalling habits, such as hiding his emotions. She was used to a blind eye being turned on her disappearances. Sesshoumaru was not going to let his pack be anything but perfection, and perfection meant discipline and trust.

"Kagome, if you are to accompany This one you must learn to trust him."

Kagome anger shimmered down as surprise took over. "You said my name," She spoke the phrase melodically, almost like a song.

Sesshoumaru was surprised and confused at the look of wonder in her eyes. _'This ningen is confusing!'_ Then another thought hit him _'She bypassed what I just said completely.'_he inwardly face-faulted.

"Miko."

"Ah, gomen." Kagome gave herself a moment to calm her mind. "The one who's calling me is my fiancee."

"Fiancee?" Sesshoumaru repeated the word slowly. It was foreign to him.

Kagome eyed him in confusion. _'Does he not know what a fiancee is?'_Just as she finished that thought.

"Oh, excuse me. Fiancee is a foreign word from a country name France in the continent of Europe that mean individuals within an engagement that will lead to marriage."

"..."

Kagome did not know how to react to Sesshoumaru silence. She averted her eyes from his intense stare. "He's calling me. Let me go, onegai. I'll be back by dawn. I promise"

"Go"


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the videos that I gave link to in this chapter**

**Beta and co-author: Tokahlia**

**Reply to reviews:**

Darksilvercloud: Yes he is definitely in denial. It was so fun to write his teasing. Though I have to confess that Tokahlia have more credit. She is very skilled with writing out Sesshoumaru.

x4Kaichouxxhaku4x: Well first off, your scene name is very hard to remember. I had to keep looking back and forth to retype it in here. Anyway, Yes I did modeled my Haku with Kohaku nushin from Spirited Away. Good job on the recognition!

Veraozao: Hello again my loyal reader and reviewer! Yes I agree; Sesshoumaru is very cute. He is normally hot but I just love to find way to make him cute. Kawaiii ne? *huge smile and a wink

tsuirakuangel: Oh i'm so glade someone caught the little hint! Just wait until you read this chapter!

Thanks all for the reviews!

* * *

><p><strong>A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire<strong>

**Chapter 8**

Sesshoumaru could do nothing but sneer as his ward's tutor quickly changed into more suitable clothes (probably caused by his growls when she made to go in her yukata) and then disappeared into the forest. The, being, that had tried to contact her had immediately set Sesshoumaru on edge. It had the audacity to send a flash of a challenge in its aura, did it not realise that Sesshoumaru could probably pulverise it in a flash? In retribution he had sent a wave of his youki, which had finally woken the girl from her sleep. The being had remained more subdued then, but, he allowed himself to think, it was extremely annoying how both its, and the miko's aura's became brighter when he allowed her to go.

So, she had become engaged. Sesshoumaru rested his head back onto the tree and stared up at the sky above him. Stringing along a hanyou and a wolf youkai seemed incredibly selfish, he mused, if she was already betrothed._ 'Yes, it is very uncaring but perhaps she is ignorant of her effects to those two.'_Sesshoumaru began to meditate but one, earthly thought kept repeating itself.

He would have to find out who his ward's tutor was engaged to. It was either that or go on a murderous rampage; the first option seemed a whole lot less messy.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Kagome arrived at the clearing faster then she had anticipated. she was still unsure how this magic worked but shrugged the thought off for now. He was not there to greet her and caused a tingle of disappointment to sting her heart.

"Beloved, disrobe and enter my spring."

Kagome gasped as she heard his deep voice rung in her mind. Her surprise turned into embarrassment as she registered what he had said. She wanted to ask why but decided to trust him and did as he said. Musing, she realised that Sesshoumaru probably wanted her to trust him like this. Well, she bitterly thought, that's what happens when you suddenly become nice after trying to kill someone most of the time. Kagome entered the spring and looked around in confusion. Nothing happened. She squeaked and instantly took back what she'd just thought. The spring water lit up and a seal appeared. The next thing she knew she felt for a brief moment to be suspended in space and then she was in his arms, dressed in an elaborate sleeping yukata.

"Welcome home, dearest."

His warm, deep voice caused her heart to quiver and she snuggled into his warm, inviting chest.

"I'm back, Haku-sama."

Haku made a sound of acknowledgement and snuggled her hair with his cheek taking in her sweet scent. Kagome giggled at the ticklish sensation then gulped when he lead her by the hand to his large bed. He motioned her hear to sit down, which calmed down the girl, then sat himself behind her.

"Haku-sama." she gasped as she felt him gently comb her hair. It warmed her heart that he would lowered himself to do this task and she felt tears gathering in her eyes at the longing she felt because long ago; the last man who had done this to her had been her now decreased.

There was a pregnant pause as Kagome began to relax before; "Dear, you have told me that you were in the company of a hanyou, then by yourself. Why, then," he tugs became a little harsher, "were you camped with a daiyoukai?"

She whimpered. Though he did not hurt her and his voice was calm she knew that he was displeased with her. "Please don't be upset. I'm sorry." she took a deep breath. "Forgive me, onegai. I did not plan to be in his company. Not at all." She wanted him to say something but he remained silent, though his strokes were gentler.

"Earlier today when Shippou and I stopped for a break and I decided to practice my ribbon dances and look for ways to use it in battle Sesshoumaru approached us." Her breath hitched when she felt him move her hair back. The right side of her neck, now suddenly bare, burnt hot against the cool air that hit it. That cool air stopped, however, when it was replaced with Haku's breath; she nearly forget how to breathe.

"Continue." His deep voice rumbled down her spine and made her private place feel uncomfortable.

"He employed me to be his ward's tutor and in exchange Shippou and I have his protection and are free to travel with him to find the Shikon's shards."

"Is that all?" Kagome's heart beats were out of control, made so by a jolt of electricity from Haku's velvet lips on her neck.

"H...Hai!" She squeaked. She shivered as he chuckled, the vibration sent spikes of pleasure through her making her felt numbed and hypersensitive all at once.

"It's just that, he felt very protective of you."

"Pro-protective? Sesshoumaru? Of a ningen other than Rin?" Kagome spluttered, the very idea pulling her out of the trance Haku had put her into. Kagome laughed at the idea while a bit of color drained from Haku's face. In a flash he had her pinned beneath him. Kagome was scared for a nanosecond until she saw the ultra cute pout on his face and her heart melted.

"I'm serious, Kagome. He sent me a flash of his youki as a threat and everything. Not that it scared me. He may be powerful but he is still a mortal."

"Mortal? Sesshoumaru? I thought youkai live forever"

"You kills youkai all the time, dearest miko."

"B... but that's different. This is Sesshoumaru we're talking about."

"He may not be human but he is still a mortal." Haku rolled his eyes at the disbelieving look she gave him. "I admit that youkai do have a long life expectancy but they can still die so it still makes them mortals."

"... Fine, but I still find that thought of Sesshoumaru dieing unbelievable. He just seems too... out of this world, I think. Like death can't keep him or something."

"What do you mean?"

Kagome was quiet as she thought about her answer. "He has Tenseiga. It's the sword that can heal and bring back the dead."

"..."

"Haku?" She 'umfph' as he laid on his side and pulled her close.

"Go to sleep, dearest. I will wake you later."

"But..."

"Sleep."

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Kagome woke up some time later and found Haku gone. She sat up and scanned the room only to find it was empty. A spark of panic rose inside her and she felt her throat tighten. Any residue of sleep was now gone; she rose from the warm bed and made her way to the only exit she saw. The moment she stepped out of the archway runes lit up around her. Shadows of the stings of the runes slithered up her body and ringed around her throat like a choker then disappeared under her skin.

The sight made Kagome's step falter. Her eyes widened as she looked in every direction, taking in the scene before her. She had never thought that she would ever have the privilege to see something so... mystical. The only thing she could think about was that it must be an underwater palace. She didn't juxtapose this palace to Ariel's undersea castle as it was very much oriental eastern kingdom in architecture. However, in place of wood the structures were made out of granite, limestone and marble. The only possible reason she could think of was because wood would not last in this watery environment, for she was definitely underwater, she could she so many exotic fishes swimming lazily around. That posed a question, how was she breathing?

Deciding to shove that confusing question away for later Kagome wandered along the long outdoor hallway and took in everything around her. She was walking in a fantasy. The little girl inside her all but took over. She felt so free and giddy. A huge, brilliant smile shined radiantly. Her hand reached out to play with the colorful fishes. Their fins were so soft yet hard. She could feel their thumping heart beating under her fingertips. Many fishes were nudging her, she was sure that if they had tongues they would be licking her.

That was how Haku found his beloved. She was playing with the fishes as she sat on a marble bench in somewhere within his garden. He slowly made his way towards her, taking his time to simply observe her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind causing the creatures around her to swim away. A few remained close while others hid only to peeked at the two from their hiding places.

"Hello, beloved." He kissed her cheek.

She blushed. "Haku."

"Why are you up so early?" He whispered, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I just woke up and you weren't there." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hm?" he smiled. "Missed me, beloved?" He chuckled when she felt the heat emanated from her skin. "Something came up and need my attention."

"What was it that you had to do?"

"Reports came that someone had contaminated my river somewhere down stream. I'll have to go on patrol soon."

"Your river?"

"Hm? Have you forgotten that I am a river god?"

"Ah; no, it's not that. I just haven't had the time to actually think about that yet. I wonder if I've ever come across your river before."

Haku was quiet for a moment. "No."

"How would you know?"

"Your aura, I would never forget your aura." His arms tightened around her and he breathe in her scent from the crook of her neck. "Definitely not."

Kagome blushed as she felt him kissed her neck but was cut off all thoughts as an impromptu yawn gaped her lips and her hand reflexively went up to cover the open mouth.

"Come, beloved. Lets get you back to bed."

She nodded but had to cover up another yawn and let him lead her by the hand. Kagome stepped closer and leaned on him, hugging his arm.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Sesshoumaru did not sleep a wink. As a daiyoukai, sleep was not a necessity, for he needed very little sleep. However, this night, he was restless. Tried as he might, he could not stop thinking about that insufferable onna. As he meditated, he was forced from nirvanna by a happy face. When he went to get a drink by a stream all he could see was her reflection. When he slew ten lesser youkai that were feasting on a kill around five miles away all he could feel was her skin as he brushed it while accepting tea. It was infuriating to say the least; enough to drive him insane at the most. So, when he sensed an aura similar to one of the being that had contacted his tutor coming from a river, Sesshoumaru decided to relieve his stress.

Dokkasu dripped from his claws and he watched with a hint of a sadistic smile on his face as the water's clear blue turned green, brown, then finally black from his poison. Little did he know that he had just made a personal attack on the being; he thought that the river just carried a similar aura.

The river god was irritated to say the least. He did not want to alarm his bride so he had withheld the information as to whom had polluted his water. A stream of anger ran in his vein. That mangy mutt had another thing coming if he thought that he would take this insult lying down. What the accursed mononoke did not know was that his river was one of the main sources of water bed that brought water to the western castle. That also meant that at least half of the food source came from his river and he could easily cut off. If he thought that he could take his bride around with him and poison his river without retribution, the arrogant dog was wrong.

Haku closed his eyes and let an image of the sky came into his mind. The light indicated that it was an hour till dawn. He canceled the spell and opened his eyes. He lower his gaze to his slumbering bride. She looked so peaceful. He was hesitant to wake her, especially since he noticed her dilating eyes behind close lids and the serene smile on her lips.

He caressed her face, running a hooked index finger down the bridge of her nose then tap lightly on her rosy lips, loving how soft they are. He smiled when her lips wiggled then leaned in and kissed her once, twice and then he stopped counting and let the feeling of euphoria consume him.

Kagome moaned. She woke up to gust of pleasure from her lips rushed through her whole body and ignited the heat in her core. Her eyes opened half lidded and she her sleepy gaze landed on Haku's handsome face. She stared into his darkened emerald eyes and she could feel his lips curled up in a smile for a brief moment before he resumed kissing her. She timidly returned the caress, unsure of herself for she had no experience in this art. As expected of him, he guided her with great patience. When she felt his wet tongue on her lower lip she froze.

"Do not fear, my bride" his husky voice set her body ablaze and she shivered. She nodded slightly and he kissed her again.

_'Is this what a french kiss feels like?'_She thought, blushing. Many weird sound escaped from her throat and she felt embarrassed. Just as she thought she would faint, Haku pulled back. His arms positioned on either side of her head and he smiled down lovingly at her; though if she was not mistaken, there was a hint of desire in those emerald gems.

"Are you awake now, beloved?"

"H..Hai" She gulped as his eyes darkened. She was distinctly aware of his scent, the intoxicating aroma was becoming more potent and concentrated. She felt his knee slowly peeled her legs open and did not know what to think. Her heart was beating dangerously fast and she fear that it will explode any seconds.

"Haku-sama" she breathed his name. _'What is he doing to me?'_What ever it was though, she did not want him to stop.

"Yes, beloved?" he asked huskily, his lips ghosting the shell of her ear.

She gasped and shivered. She was so confused. She wanted something so much. Her body was hot and wanting, needing something; _'Touch?'_ But there was a thought in the back of her mind that beckoned her to stop and think. There was something she need to do and places she need to be. She was making those weird and embarrassing sounds again as she felt jolts of pleasant lightning struck her from every places that Haku's lips touched. She cried out when Haku bit down somewhere on her neck. The tiny pain only made her body burn more. _'Is this pleasure?'_

Then he was kissing her again and she was lost to the world.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

The sounds of flapping wings were a crescendo in the silent atmosphere of the early morning. The sky still ruled under darkness but a peek of light peeked its rebellion; dawn was near. Glowing golden eyes flashed open behind magenta-striped markings, aimed towards the approaching sounds.

Confusion slashed through his thoughts, Sesshoumaru had up his arm and let the hark perch on his forearm. He took no notice to the majestic beast, his sole focus was on the rolled up parchment tied securely to it's left leg, with a red and yellow twine. He swiftly removed the parchment and made motions with his arms and the bird immediately flew away.

A frown marred his face as he read the missive. His eyes flashed in irritation and the parchment was quick to dissolve under his acidic poison influence. He strutted to where the imp laid and swiftly kicked the slumbering creature none too gently.

"Jaken, awaken."

"W... wa?"

"Clear up camp. The castle beckons." Being outside on his own personal vendetta sometimes made the Lord forget that he had a land which he ruled and that said land had problems.

"Uh? Ah yes, of course, my lord!"

Sesshoumaru did not pay the green creature attention as his gaze was off in the distance at the horizon. He pushed away the thoughts of the crisis surrounding his lands and instead focused on something easier. _'Dawn approaches and the miko has yet to return.' _His eyes narrowed. He discretely sniffed the air in search of her scent. A growl vibrated from deep within his throat when he finally caught her scent. It was tainted. Her unique scent was laced heavily by another irritating male.

That, and the fact was, she was embarrassed. Why, he couldn't guess but when he heard her clearly not one hundred metres to his right he darted to her side. For one she certainly seemed well-rested. For another, she was wearing a different set of clothes and carrying her original in the crook of her arm.

Seeming to only have just seen the daiyoukai Kagome shrieked and took a step back at his sour expression.

"I'm back..." She meekly murmured, straightening the edges of her skirt in nervousness.

"Hn. This one has eyes, _miko._" The way he sneered her position made it sound like a curse. Kagome huffed and stomped her foot.

"I don't even know why I come back anymore if that's how you're going to treat me." She crossed her arms, imitating Sesshoumaru's pose.

Sesshoumaru stayed quiet, then, as his nose began to twitch again at _his _scent he did something very impulsive. Normally Sesshoumaru would say that he had complete control of himself but, when it happened, he had all but lost control to his base instincts.

Kagome went deathly still. Sesshoumaru was... surrounding her. She could _feel _the strength of his youki as it swirled around her body, covering every inch of her. She wanted to pull away but found herself paralysed by the tangible weight of it. The inu 'hn'ed after a minute of intense youki exposure and then Kagome was free.

"Wh... What was that for?" She nearly screamed, some part of her registering that screaming right in front of a being with good hearing was not the way to stay alive.

"This Sesshoumaru will not allow you to smell like some-other male in his presence. Especially if said male does not have This one's permission." When her face turned dark with anger Sesshoumaru began to mentally back-pedal. Did she not realise that it was a matter of honour; that if it seemed that Sesshoumaru did not know who was courting his ward's tutor that hers, and by association, his, reputation would be lowered?

Instead of exploding like he expected Kagome instead brushed past him and to the campsite.

Kagome was giving Sesshoumaru the silent treatment. Normally, she would be fuming even if it was within the privacy of her mind but this time she locked away all thoughts. Inside her mind as now a void, no light, no sounds and empty of all emotions. The let her senses reigned free but did not analyze or think about anything other then let her mind registered what she was looking at and what she was hearing. She made conversations with the children, telling tales and random facts about anything that came into her mind. They were on their way to Sesshoumaru's citadel; she briefly wondered what for but she pushed that thought away not wanting to even think about things that would string her back to the thought of the arrogant Inu lord. She was still mad at him.

Her arrival at the castle was not... pleasant. The prejudiced youkai were not taken by human and she was not just any human. She was a miko; their worst enemy.

"Miko, you will refrain yourself from harming This one's subjects."

Kagome said nothing.

"They are expensive and take a long time to train." Sesshoumaru peeked a view at the still-silent miko. She was staring at nothing and everything, eyes unfocused and focused at once.

"Tonight for dinner we shall be having your kit as an appetiser, followed after by a main course of monks."

Kagome blinked. "Wh... What did you say just then?" Her eyes focused onto his.

"This one does not like repeating himself." he growled. "But, for your sake I shall repeat. We will be having fried rice for an appetiser, followed by a main course of pheasant."

Seeming to remember that she was mad with him she rolled her eyes and once again cleared her mind, Sesshoumaru smirked at his little victory.

Kagome eyes turned away from him and stared ahead again and she held Shippou tighter to her chest. _'I can't be hearing things.'_Her eyes narrowed and she bit the inside of her cheek.

"I will not harm them if they refrain from doing something to me or my kit. So warn them to not test me." She spoke softly, her eyes did not stray from the scene ahead.

"Hn."

She grounded her teeth at his response. _'It would seem like he is not part of the do-not-test-me category.'_Looking ahead, she did not catch the smirk on Sesshoumaru's face that was caused by the spike in her scent due to her irritation. There were many demons that did cower away in fear. Seeing their lord smirk was a bad sign, usually followed by a new guard position opening up.

"Jaken, prepare a suite in the northern wing for the miko and her kit."

"B... but, Sesshoumaru-sama. That wing is for-"

"You dare question This One?"

"This lowly servant is sorry. Please have mercy on this Jaken!" The imp dozega, his small body shaking in fear.

On the sideline, Kagome silently observed. _'He rules by fear.'_The thought saddened her. She felt something akin to sympathy for the Inu lord. It made her wonder if there was anyone in his life that genuinely like him for who he was, who was devoted to him out of kinship or adoration in place of other superficial respect and fear. She saw his golden eyes turn to her and looked away once more.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

"Speak," Sesshoumaru barked. This had taken too long already.

"My lord," the retainer began "we do know why this is happening but the population of water creatures are migrating upstream. Everything was find until early this morn'." Just as the first finished the second took over.

"Not only that, Sesshoumaru-sama, but the trees and plant-life that live of the many streams are not doing well. The leaves have lost their luster and flowers are not as vibrant. We do not know what to do." The poor youkai were distressed.

If Sesshoumaru had been a lesser being he would have gulped. Fortunately, he had a steady control of his bodily actions. Instead, he remained quiet.

"I think I know the source of this problem." His voice was low and dangerous.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Kagome caught her breath at the first sight of her_ temporary _suite. The room was simply beautiful. What had truly caught her eyes were tasteful sheets of sheer and silk fabric strung down from the ceilings. The room was very airy, large windows and slide-doors to the private garden on the other side of the room. So lost in her inspection of the room, Kagome did not notice when the imp had left. She walked, though she felt like she was floating around the room. Her piano digit fingers touched and the many sheers as she breathe in the cool air the flown in from the outside. The wind caressed her, her hair waved back like ocean currents. She sat down on the mattress; the bed was too big for someone of her size. She guessed it could equivalent to a California-King-bed. She spread her body onto the soft mattress then rolled around and faced the ceiling. A pretty smile bloomed on her face when she was greeted with the acoustic sight of a mural. Kagome chuckled as she studied the mural, the theme was underwater. She rose from the bed and made her way to the banister. For a moment she was anticipated to walk into the garden but decided against it. She sat down on the polished wood floor of the banister and on impulse retrieved her long neglected harp form her seal.

Kagome felt bad for having neglected on her study; most of all, her music study, one of which was with the harp. As a little girl, she had watched in childish fascination as her paternal grandmother made this harp sing. Kagome loved to watch was her grandmother's long fingers moved so elegantly as she played her beloved harp. A sharp pain stuck her heart as she thought of her grandmother. She remembered when that tragic day came when her grandmother was diagnosed with osteoporosis. Because of this medical condition she was unable to play her beloved instrument any longer. The pain had become too much. Kagome had vowed then that she would play the harp in her grandmother's, place. Kagome now felt the bitter pain of guilt.

_'How could I have forgotten?'_"Je suis désolé, grand-mère." Kagome sniffled and wiped the tears that had fallen unbidden with her sleeve. She closed her eyes and took a moment to remember the feel of her instrument, the fingerings, the correct hand positions. She tuned it quietly, frowning at the fact that almost all of the two higher octaves were flat compared to the mid-range. Then, sure her instrument and her mind were in the right place she began to play. Her finger glided across the strings of the harp like how raindrops left ripples in the still water surface. The sweet melody resonate intoxicating sequence of notes through the air. Kagome eyes were closed as memories of old times danced inside her mind. Her fingers took a life of their own as the ten lithe digits soared through her grandmother's favorite piece of all time, First Arabesque by Debussy.

**Author's note: http:/ youtu. be/A8FWcoWInWs**

As she finished the piece, Kagome felt as if her sadness and guilt had dispersed, her hands returned to her control and she felt the need to answer her grandmother with one of her own favorite piece, Hommage à Haydn.

**Author's note: http:/ youtu. be/NxotQJjcJAc**

Kagome's eyes were closed and a small yet angelic smile shone brightly on her pixie face. Around her, it seemed as if flowers had magically bloomed and as if butterflies danced joyfully around her. The breeze picked up and sent everything aflutter. _'Can you hear me, _grand-mère_?'_ Kagome inhaled and breathe in the sweet scents of flora, it was wonderful. She smiled a more serene smile. _'A fantasy, a melody, so timeless. I hope that my music can cross time if only for your ears to hear.' _Kagome fluttered open her eyes half-lid. She gazed lovingly at her harp and the ways her fingers moved then she blinked and a faraway look entered her eyes. _'I promise I'll visit you soon, grand-_mère_.'_

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Sesshoumaru made his way through his castle quickly and effectively. After his retainers had explained themselves he had firstly taken off his armour (it was heavy and in the safety of his own home he decided it was unnecessary), freshened up with a hot, damp towel before deciding to get answers. The miko had some information that he needed.

So, when he knocked on her room's door he had been surprised to hear some more of her strange music played on an instrument with strings. He guessed it to be something like a konghou, but, as he entered her room and took in the sight in front of him, he realised that he had never seen the instrument before. That in itself was enough to annoy him. Kagome was well-read, spoke with things of yet to happen with such certainty and seemed to have things that he, the great and knowledgeable Lord Sesshoumaru, had yet to seen.

He listened, unnoticed as she finished her first song and launched into her second. This music... it was almost enough to confuse him. Like the song he had heard her play while practising her fighting routine it was almost abrasive to his ears at first. However, once listening for a few minutes he began to appreciate this new form of art. Everything was impeccably structured (which a daiyoukai such as Sesshoumaru could appreciate) and, though it was based on scales that made him feel unfamiliar and played on an instrument he hadn't known about, he had to admit that it was... pretty.

Once the miko had finished her playing Sesshoumaru shook his head and tried to remember why he had come to see her in the first place. The music, and the smile that had come onto her face had, though he refused to admit it, distracted him. Kagome rested for a few moments before putting her instrument away into her seal. By the time she stood up and began to turn around Sesshoumaru realised two things.

One, that it would look like he had been listening in on purpose and two, that he had no idea what he had come in for.

Her eyes settled on his form, first unseeing, then she seemed to come to her senses. The girl jumped back in shock and lost her footing on the edge of the porch were she had been sitting and falling slowly backwards.

Before she hit the ground however, two clawed hands wrapped around her waist, steadying her moments from her collapse; Kagome looked up at her savior from wide eyes, only to find that she was now upright, away from the ledge and that the imposing figure of an inu youkai stood a respectable distance away.

"Uh... Sesshoumaru-sama? What are you here for?" Kagome spluttered out, looking at a Sesshoumaru minus his armour. He looked almost, naked without it. It was like when a teacher suddenly took off their glasses, it was startling to say the least.

"Hn," Sesshoumaru lifted his chin and turned to his side, trying to cover his back-pedaling mind with a haughty air. He remained quiet until he walked towards Kagome slowly, making her heart-beat stammer in the most pleasing way. Then, with a click, his mind filled in his reason and his slightly amused expression dropped. "This one needs to know more about your betrothed."

"My fiancee?" Kagome mused, eyebrows scrunching at his sudden curiosity and mood swing. "Why do you want to know now?" Kagome had to step back as he kept his steady pace toward her.

"Hn."

"Would you stop answering my questions with that 'hn'? I'm pretty sure it's not even a word." Kagome crossed her arms.

"You're evading the answer This One seeks, Miko." He was dangerously close to cornering her, the young girl cast a glance behind her and was startled to find that the wall was only a few steps away. Flashes of a strong hand pinning her to said wall via her neck ran through her mind, the almost feral expression on Sesshoumaru's face didn't help her delusions.

"Don't come any closer!" she quietly hissed, heart beating erratically.

Sesshoumaru raised his brow but decided to amuse her and halted in his step. "Do you fear This Sesshoumaru so much, Miko?" he asked, his amusement ringing loudly in his tone.

"Why shouldn't I be? It's not like you haven't tried killing me before." Kagome stared defiantly into his eyes, hands clenched at either side. Sesshoumaru took a half-step closer, looked down at her from his superior height, then turned on his heel and walked back a few steps. He let his gaze fall on the new sight of the garden. Never had he seen his garden with more life. His eyes half-lidded as he glanced back to the silent miko behind him. He was sure it was her doing. He knew not how but could not find in himself to care at the moment.

"Are you so ashamed that you would want no other to know the identity of your betrothed, miko?" He baited her. After all, it was the easiest way to get information from her.

"Shame? I would never be ashamed of my fiancee! Do not accuse me of something you do not know!"

"And yet, you still hold tightly to the name of this person like it was some kind of dirty little secret." Sesshoumaru turned his body so it faced her yet didn't move. He could smell the pure energy burning near the surface of his skin and, from what he had seen so far, she had little control of her powers.

"You know nothing" Her rage clouded her mind. She strutted to him. For a mere second she wished he was wearing a tie so that she could yank him down to her eye level. Their height difference made her anger more profound. She was so tempted to yank him down by his hair. His perfectly straight, stupid, silver hair. The only thing that was stopping her was her the very limited self preservation left within her as the rest was blown away by her anger. "Why are you so desperate to know who he is, Sesshoumaru? What would you do with the information once you had it? Don't think that any harm you plan to do to my beloved will go without retribution."

"Oh? Then what, pray tell, will you do about it?" he taunted her, leaning down, so close that their noses touched. "An untrained miko who cannot even control her own power. What makes you think you could do anything to This Sesshoumaru?" As her anger bubbled forth stronger he cut her off. "However, This Sesshoumaru doesn't desire this knowledge for personal gain." He pulled back and looked into the garden. "I believe that he is causing a drought to my lands." Wisely, he decided to leave out the fact that he might have poisoned her husband-to-be.

"A drought in your land... I see nothing wrong with the weather." Kagome took a moment to think over what he had just told her. _'If it's not the weather then it's the water.'_Kagome still in thought, walked off in to the garden. She did not stop there however. She continue walking until she was at the wall of the castle. She crouched down and pushed some reiki into her legs and jumped. She landed unbalanced on the wall's roof and had to take a moment to balance herself. As she did so she numbly noted the swish of fabric besides her to be Sesshoumaru.

Once her heart calmed down from her vertigo attack she scanned the land below her. The sight was wonderful. Kagome had to force herself to focus on the task at hand and moved her eyes to the many braids of streams and search for the source. Her heart jumped at the sight. The clear blue-green water of the grand riverbed was majestic. She was instinctively reminded of Haku and smiled then blushed brightly at her latest memory with him. _'Not the time, Kagome.'_Blacking out whilst making out was not something she wanted to remember ever again. When she had finally stirred Haku had left her a note, saying that he had business to attend to and giving her instructions back to where she had met him the night before. He also mentioned that she was too much of a temptation for him that morning. That had caused her to nearly have a nosebleed as her imagination ran wild.

"Pay attention, Ka-go-me." The way he pronounced each syllable caused Kagome to blush anew. She darted a gaze over to him, only to see a slightly proud smirk on his face. When she squinted yet again into the far distance the inu lord allowed himself a small sigh before wrapping a hand around her waist and propelling them forward and down into his lands before.

Kagome screamed. "LET ME GO!" She was falling, straight into the lands below her. When the hand around her began to slowly untangle itself from her shirt's fabric Kagome reconsidered her words. "I take that back!" Thinking only of her own safety at the current moment then of in the long term she turned and buried herself into Sesshoumaru's side. "Don't let go!" The hand paused, then tightened around her mid-section and instead of falling, Kagome's heart began to slow down as she realised that they were descending.

"Miko." Kagome held onto Sesshoumaru's kimono tighter, still convinced she was in the air.

"Kagome." She felt, rather than heard, Sesshoumaru sigh. Meekly she opened her eyes only to find a slightly uncomfortable daiyoukai looking anywhere but at her. "We have landed."

Kagome immediately pulled away, surprised to find that she was indeed standing on her own two feet. "Oh... sorry." She mumbled, straightening her clothes before she realised what he had just done. "Oi, wait a second! What the hell was that? You aren't supposed to just jump off a wall without some-one's permission!"

"This one follows no-one's expectations but his own." He almost-huffed, straightening where her fingers had crumpled only slightly. That made Kagome confused, she had Sesshoumaru pinned as an OCD-neat freak.

"Well... have you ever thought of letting someone know when you're about to take them with you off a building?"

"Yes, but, have you ever thought of not screaming 'let me go' when four storeys above the air?"

Was that a... laugh? Kagome stared, open mouthed and in amazement as the stoic killing perfection began to chuckle. She didn't have him as someone who would put on a falsetto when imitating her either but, it seemed that he was trying to break her assumptions of him.

"Whatever." She huffed. "What was it you wanted to show me again?"

"You left on your own to see This One's land, miko." He deadpanned.

"Oh..." She cleared her throat awkwardly. She turned and stepped away from him, feigning on wanting to see the garden more closely. "It's the river that is posing the problem for you isn't it?" she asked as she ran her fingers over the petals of a peony blossom, withering though there had been rain the day before last.

"Hn."

"What made you so sure that my fiancee had anything to do with your land's problem?"

"This one... might have possibly poisoned a river carrying a similar aura to your betrothed's." If Kagome hadn't been so involved she would have thought the very uncomfortable look on Sesshoumaru's face cute, if possibly awe inspiring.

However, she had other things on mind. "You tried to poison my boyfriend?"

"No, a river that felt similar to your betrothed." He said it as if it was a huge difference.

"He's a water god!"

"... Hn." She supposed that was Sesshoumaru's version of an 'oh'.

"Whatever." Kagome crossed her arms. "So, what are you going to do?"

Sesshoumaru, having long looked away from the girl and her angry comments cast her an almost-shy glance. "Me?"

"Yeah. You. You're the one who started this mess, you should clean it up."

"..."

At his silence Kagome huffed. She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms. "Hm..." She studied his face with critical eyes. "Why did you do it in the first place?"

"This One need not explain himself to you, miko." Explaining the fact that it had been the only way to get her off his mind wasn't one he wanted to do out-loud. Sesshoumaru, seeing a question form on her lips again turned and began walking away. "Be ready for supper in two hours time, miko. Do not be late."

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Beta and co-author: Tokahlia**

**"My Thanks": **

Sin of the Fallen: hehehee, Sesshoumaru just have too much pride, but yes he really should get off his high-horses. I still think it's funny how he handled her questionings. For the review: my thanks *nod*

Tsuirakuangel: hm... I'm not sure if i should answer because that would take away the surprise. nah, you'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for reviewing. *peace*

Veraozao: Hello again my devoted reader! *hug* thanks for the review.

Inulover385: Yes this Haku was based off of Kohaku in spirited away. He's so awesome! And yes i'm working on the next chapter of Say My Name as well. *wave*

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><p><strong>A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire<strong>

**Chapter 9**

An angry growl disturbed the serene forest atmosphere. It was just after sunset and Kikyou's clay golem body had rejected yet another soul. Something was going on with her reincarnation and Kikyou knew it. She was in need of more souls to replenish her reiki but was unable to absorb any new souls. What had happened to the girl that InuYasha kept from her?

Kikyou turned her hateful eyes to the unlucky soul within the gasp of her floating soul catcher and sneered. She reached out her hand and grabbed hold. Her spidery fingers tightened and she crushed the poor soul in her fist.

"What is wrong, Kikyou-chan?" The teasing voice came from above, but then, a pissed off Kikyou reasoned, it was the place she expected her to come from.

"What do you want," Kikyou aimed an arrow as the wind demoness drifted down from her feather and landed silently on the ground. "Kagura?"

Said demoness laughed at the threat Kikyou presented her. "An arrow? Dear Kikyou, I am the wind." When the miko released her arrow Kagura smirked, then with a wave of her fan, blew the arrow off course into the tree to her left. "See, I tell no lies."

"Says the woman who is against her creator." Kikyou had another arrow trained on the sorcerer, trying to keep up the strong front she was trying so hard to maintain. _'Dammit Kagome, have you changed?' _

"Naraku isn't the nicest man to be around isn't he?" Kagura sighed, sending a slow blade of wind the reanimated woman's way. Kikyou, startled, relied on the soul collectors to pull her into safety. She missed the attack by mere seconds. Kagura raised her eyebrows as an arrow went dangerously close to her left cheek. She was forced to dodge the following three that came afterwards with little gusts of air to launch her into the sky.

"No, I suppose not," Kikyou admitted as Kagura floated softly to the ground yet again. "Then again, you have a taste for a more regal type of man don't you?" Kagura flinched. Kikyou, having only two arrows left in her quiver, continued in her psychological assault. "But, then again, unrequited love is always good stuff for a love story!" At the last word she let fly another arrow, this time Kagura brushed it away with a flick of her fan with a cold, calculative glare.

"What makes you think that he doesn't like me?" She yipped, sending another blast of wind at the weakening miko. "For all you know we could be lovers!" Kikyou, having barely dodged the first blade instead opted to dropping to one knee and putting up a barrier to protect herself from the youki that was driving the following blade forward. The wind was still strong, unbelievably so, but without the demon energy pushing it along it was merely the wind, not an edge.

"You are the incarnation of Naraku are you not? I'm pretty sure Sesshoumaru does not like males."

Kikyou was nearly knocked out by the wind that she purified that followed her comment. She telepathically told her army of soul eaters to bring all souls they were near to her. If she didn't hurry she would be forced to use some of the soul she had stolen off Kagome all those years ago, and that was something that could not be easily replenished.

"I AM A WOMAN!" Kagura screamed as the miko remained in her crouched position. Trying to regain control, Kagura, with shaky hands, brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "You do not call the daughter of a man a male, so what is the difference between that and me?"

Kikyou remained silent. She was focused on keeping her barrier making abilities at the ready, if she spoke the miko was afraid that when Kagura attacked that she would be unable to put up one quick enough to save her non-life.

"Fine then, do not answer me." Kagura sighed and hung her fan at her obi. "You're boring, I'll be taking my leave now." A tug of the wind, a flutter of clothing. Once Kikyou was sure Kagura was out of sight she collapsed to her side, all but mentally screaming for souls from her companions.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

"Ku ku ku, so little windy has a crush on the icy dog? Ha ha ha!" Naraku smirked as his brain started numerous streams of schemes. He flicked his hair back and brought his tea cup up to his lips and sipped on the semi-hot liquid. He closed his eyes as the taste and warmth filled him.

"Kana," he turned his half-lidded eyes to the young void youkai. "Come have tea with me," he told her softly, though there was no emotion weaved in his words. His eyes were calculating as he stared at her face searching for anything, something. Kana, to her credit, did not leak any emotions on her face, the only sign that hinted her surprise was a slight flicker of her youki, which Naraku was not sure he caught. Still, the increasingly sane hanyou was amused as the Kana gingerly came and sat opposite him. He let a smirk appeared on his lips when her stoic eyes widen ever so slightly when he took the initiative to pour her tea and served her sweet mochi.

"Arigatou," The soft whisper of the word almost made Naraku smile softly. He was not sure what brought this on but he felt like another weight had lifted from his back. He relished in this as he took a new breath of air and smirked into his tea. _'I wonder... Am I chained to something?'_A far away look entered his ruby orbs as he continue to sip his tea.

Kana was perplexed, well as perplexed as a void youkai could be; which is another food for thought. As a void youkai, she should not be able to feel any emotions so for her to be able to feel even this tiniest bit of perplexity and a moment before, shock, was the signs of something changing. _'Something changing in Naraku...'_Just as she finished that thought, two more emotions greeted her, fear and anticipation. The hatred in Naraku's eyes had just softened when he looked at her for an ephemeral second but she was sure that it did happened before he blinked.

_'Yes, a wind of change,'_ She thought as a soft breeze flew in from the opened shoji doors to the private garden. Kana took noticed to how the cool temperature from the breeze tingled her skin and fluttered her clothing and hair. _'Kagura,'_

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

"Oui, au revoir, ma belle-mère. (Yes, goodbye mother-in-law)." Hinata gently placed the phone back into it's holder then returned to her place at the dinning table. She whispered a soft 'itadikimasu' with her hands clapped together and chopsticks held under her thumbs.

"What did she say?"

The sound of her father's voice made her look up from the saute vegetable that she aimed to picked up using her chopsticks. "Ah, mother-in-law will make her yearly visit a week earlier this year as she will be attending a recital in the area not long form now."

"Souka?(is that so?)"

She nodded as she began eating. Once she had finished her first mouthful Hinata, Kagome's mother, continued in her explanation. "She said she wants to see her grandchildren."

"Nee-chan is in the other era though, mama." Souta blurted out.

"I know," his mother sighed. "Hopefully Kagome will come back early; she said she'd try and make it back on time but if she does this year she'll miss her grandmother entirely."

Souta took a moment and silently chewed his food, savoring the flavors as he thought over the situation. "If only nee-chan's cell phone would work," he sighed. Beside him, Buyo the cat meowed.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Sesshoumaru was in his study, mentally sighing at the huge, unread stack of papers that still littered his desk. Instead of wanting to kill Naraku for Rin, as was his original plan, he found himself consumed by the rage to kill the hanyou for distracting Sesshoumaru from his work, thus making his stack of reports grow higher and higher. Sesshoumaru had unceremoniously shoved the old reports of a year ago to the side, instead focusing on problems arising because of Kagome's betrothed.  
>That word left a sour taste in his mouth and a scowl on his face. Yes, her fiancee, as she called him, was proving to be troublesome in the least. A river god was not someone Sesshoumaru found intimidating, but he found it annoying that one person would leave his lands to die because of a little poisoning. <em>'It wasn't <em>that _much poison. This one could have evaporated the water but, chose to show some degree of mercy.'_

Whilst reading a report from farmers to the north a knock came onto the shouji doors secluding his office, making the inu lord look up. Once he focus was away from the scroll the scent of tea, the miko and her aura hit him like a stone wall. That caused his scowl to deepen. The only ones he allowed under his notice at all times were Ah-Un and Rin. How had this miko, who was very fickle in his mind, managed to gain his unconscious trust in such a matter?

"Sesshoumaru-sama," the miko bowed over the tea-tray she carried, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but notice that the black kimono with silver crescent moons and flowers made her look... breath-taking. "I've brought you tea."

The miko remained prostate for a few, awkward seconds as Sesshoumaru realised he hadn't responded. "Hn," was what he gave her and what he thought appropriate. She righted herself and walked with small steps towards his table.

Seeing the mountainous pile of papers Kagome first frowned then set the tray on the floor. Sesshoumaru pretended to finish reading the scroll, none of the words sticking in his mind, as the girl poured the tea she had made him two nights ago. Surely, it hadn't been such a short amount of time?

"Sesshoumaru-sama," Kagome handed him a cup of tea with both hands, Sesshoumaru received it quickly, not in the mood for teasing. "I want to ask if I may return to my home." The moment she finished her sentence, he immediately wanted to destroy the imaginary words in his mind. He had too much to deal with already to allow her journey away from his home where he could not keep an eye on her.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"If This one had something to say on the matter you would already know." A sense of disappointment and anger simmered inside Kagome. She was disappointed because she thought he was better then InuYasha when it came to things like this. Angered because who did he think he was to monitor her movements?

"Why?"

"Why what, Miko?" He spoke, though he did not look up from the report he was reading.

"Why can't I go?"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the miko. He thought of saying that he did not explain himself but that was chased out of his mind. _'No, she deserves to be told.' _

"This one, though does not explain himself often, will try and make you see sense." Sesshoumaru leaned closer to the girl before counting off points with his fingers. "One, you will need to be escorted and I am needed here. Two," he cut her off, "as a member of This one's pack having you dissapear after joining will be shameful. Three, you have not gained This one's trust enough to convince him that when you tell him that you come back you will."

Kagome was silent, oddly so. Sesshoumaru briefly wondered if it would have been easier to not have explained himself in the first place. When she opened her mouth to retort he suddenly remembered why he didn't give such explanations.

"What has scarred you so much, Sesshoumaru, that you cannot trust me to leave and come back again on my own will? You don't own me and I should be free to do what I want!" Sesshoumaru let out a growl, ordering her to back down. Kagome ignored his warning. As he straightened his back she did as well.

"Back down." he ordered, staring into her eyes unblinking.

"No, I won't back down until you-" Kagome was cut short as she a clawed hand around her throat and a back against her wall. As Sesshoumaru glowered over her Kagome continued to stare into his eyes. His hand, which had been almost soft at first started to tighten.

They continued their staring contest for a few seconds, Kagome remaining dominant in a small show of rebellion until she had decided she had enough. She let her body go limp, looked down at the ground and slumped her shoulder, all in a burst of sudden instict. Almost immediately Sesshoumaru's hand lessened its steadily strengthening iron-grip. He removed his hand gently, making sure her feet were on the ground before briskly turning back to his desk, sitting down and drinking tea.

Kagome was livid, absolutely furious but, she decided that her neck hurt a bit too much and she'd rather prefer life over pride. Meekly but with a hint of rebellion she also returned to her seat.  
>"I thought that being part of the pack meant not hurting its members." she groused, sipping on the sweet tea.<p>

"Yes, but when a pack member has the audacity to challenge the Alpha he must put them in their place." _'I was showing off. Also don't challenge me, it makes me look bad. I don't want to hurt you but, you know, I'm stubborn. And prideful. And a daikyoukai. So no.'_

"I still want to go back." she murmured into her cup, feeling slightly foolish. Not for wanting to go back, she thought that his protectiveness of her was almost, endearing, if extremely, annoying and hindering. She felt foolish instead for not backing down and trying a subtle solution earlier. She probably just blew her chance of getting his permission to go, now she'd have to sneak out. And if there was one thing Kagome wasn't good at doing it was keeping secrets.

Sesshoumaru may not be watching her as he was busy reading; however his sensitive and superior inu-youkai senses picked up her mischievous, or should he say scheming, thoughts. He internally smirked. _'It has been a while since I had to discipline a foolish youth.'_But her challenge had struck a chord close to home.

"Why are you still here, Miko?" he said in an almost bored tone.

"No particular reason." Sesshoumaru could almost hear her hidden words: _'Why do you care? I'm staying here to annoy you because you refused to let me leave.''_

"Hn." Sesshoumaru had to raise his scroll higher to hide the smirk on his face at the spike of irritation in her scent.

He heard a distinctive sound of porcelain impacting wood and knew that she had set her cup down. He was preparing for her tongue-slashing when the enigmatic miko surprised him once again.

"Do you need help, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to her too quickly and immediately scolded himself when he saw the light of satisfaction in her eyes and smelt the spice in her scent.

"If I'm going to gain your trust, as you put it, we should probably do more together than just argue." Her smile was sad, almost pitiful. It annoyed him.

"Hn," he nodded and handed her one of the older scrolls. Kagome blinked in surprise as he pushed an ink well, a brush and a sheet of untouched paper in front of her. "If you truly wish to help you can sum up what is being mentioned in these papers." The miko nodded and unrolled the report, a steady, focused expression on her face. It turned to one of surprise as she proceeded through the writing.

"Sesshoumaru, how old is this?" He shrugged, ignoring her momentary lapse of the suffix. "Sesshoumaru-sama, are you making me do all your overdue homework?"

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

"Miroku! Use kazanna already!" InuYasha jumped back from the raging oni, tsking at the closeness of its strike. He tightened his grip around Tetsusaiga, trying to figure out where the shikon shard was. Miroku, in lieu of Kagome, had sensed the shard in the beast but, unlike the guardian of the jewel, he could not tell where it lay.

"InuYasha, Miroku is still suffering the saimyoushou's poison, he shouldn't be running about, never mind using his wind tunnel!" Sango protested, as she 'sloppily' swung Hiraikotsu, sending it dangerously close to the hanyou.

"Oi! Watch it!"

"I'm sorry InuYasha, maybe if we still had Kagome we could have defeated this brute earlier and I wouldn't be so tired!" Sango caught Hiraikotsu from Kirara's back, then swung it at the ogre's arm, cutting the appendage right off.

InuYasha, seeing an opportunity slashed at the foe, shouting "Adamant Barrage!" as loud as he could. Nothing happened.

"Wha..." Tetsusaiga turned back to its old-sword form, leaving InuYasha cursing at the sky.

"Crp! Miroku, Sango, we have to retreat!" InuYasha could feel his meagre supply of youki leaving him as his hair turned black and his eyes turned violet.

"Leaving so soon little ningens?" The oni laughed, its arm reattaching itself with ease. "I'll just have to put you out of your misery!" The demon stomped forward to Sango, which in turn caused Kirara to fly back which caused Sango to miss catching Hiraikotsu.

"No!" Miroku began to unwind the beads from his right arm as Sango and Kirara stood defenseless infront of the oni. InuYasha was preparing to through himself into battle, powers or not just as a purified arrow struck the ogre in its left eye. The oni screamed as it was purified along with the jewel shard, said object floating softly to the ground.

Miroku and Sango whipped around, expecting a time-traveller with a kitsune to be their saviour. Instead it was an undead miko, breathing heavily and limping as a hanyou-turned-human rushed to her side.

The scene of their reunion was heart warming, mainly because of the adoration and longing in InuYasha face. Sango watched in silence. She felt a needle of pain and guilt as dark thoughts zoomed across her mind. The goo of hatred bubbled up like molten lava in her gut at the sight of Kikyou. The undead miko was the reason for Kagome's departure and InuYasha's unfaithfulness.

However their reunion was cut short when Kikyou didn't respond. The clay woman fell to the ground in a thud, though to all the people there her fall was like a film played in slow motion. Weakened from both the battle and his human transformation InuYasha did not react in time to catch her. "Kikyou!"

InuYasha was at her side in a matter of seconds and held her in his arms. Kikyou turned her empty eyes to InuYasha purple irises. "Where is _she_?" Even in her weakened state, Kikyou managed to spit out the annotation for Kagome.

"Wha...? Are you talking about the wench?"

Sango growled. "What do you want with her? Is it not enough that you have _him?_" she pointed to InuYasha though her heated gaze still piercing at the clay-doll. Miroku laid a calming hand on her shoulder but she ignored him.

Kikyou gave the demon-slayer a quick glance before she returned her gaze to InuYasha. "Bring her to me."

"Wh-Why?" Sango couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kikyou wanted Kagome?

"She is changing." Was all the miko mumbled before she closed her eyes and promptly passed out.

"Kikyou!" InuYasha frantically shook her.

"InuYasha, you can't possibly do as _she_says. You will only put Kagome in danger if you do." Sango's heated words stopped at the look in his eyes. "You wouldn't do that to Kagome... right?"

He did not answer.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha**

**Co-author: Tokahlia**

**Reviews reponse:**

**Inulover385: No Naruto is not the father and I choose the name Hinata on random so sorry if confused you. No hard feeling I hope. Thanks for the review.**

**Veraozao: She needs Kagome because she wants to kill her. She thinks that by doing so she will be able to take her soul and live on. I hope that I did not give away too much. Thanks for the review.**

**Tsuirakuangel: Yes, it was Haku doing. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Darksilvercloud: I do agree with you that Kikyou is mean for saying that. What a way to hit on a woman's pride huh? About Inuyasha: well,... love is blind. Thanks for the review.  
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><p><strong>A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire<strong>

**Chapter 10**

_'Come to me...my bride...come.'_

"Haku?" Kagome rose abruptly from her bed and whipped her head around the room. She did not find what she sought. Then she felt a tug at her aura and knew that he was calling for her. She could not help but smile. She briefly wondered if this was how InuYasha felt every time he ran of to see Kikyou but quickly flushed the thought away.

She knew that he, Haku, was not here and so she closed her eyes and concentrated on the string that he tugged an invisible connection between them. She had never tried anything like this before but she had a want and a need. Kagome tried to remember how he felt when she was near him; his presence could not be mistaken for anyone else's. She felt elated when she found the string; it hummed in power and love that were soaked in his grace. She moved to follow. Her feet glided as she moved along the path that would lead her to him.

The night was dark; a perfect night for stargazing as there was no moon. Kagome stopped on the bank of a pond, this particular pond was connected to one of the many streams that branched off Haku's river. Kagome was barely able to see her reflection staring back at her as tonight was a new moon. Moments passed as she tried her hardest to wait for her eyes to adjust to the night's low light exposure. She finally thought that her eyes were adjusted as the water and aquatic plants came into view. She frowned when she found out that it was not her eyes but because there was something shining in the water. A shape came more into focus and recognition lit up in her mind; the source of her light was a seal within the water.

'_This must by my...ride,'_she thought, her head tilted slightly in wonder as she studied the glowing seal. Kagome was unaware of her unconscious movements as she moved closer to get a better look and stepped onto the water, directly on top of said seal. Magic reacted as soon as both of her feet were planted on the seal and a gust of power rushed up. An unnatural wind flustered her thin sleeping yukata and hair. Kagome gasped.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Midnight was when Sesshoumaru was rudely awoken by a triumphant aura spiking through his lands. Before his guards or any of his staff could react the inu-lord was already at the origin of the foreign matter. His eyes were red in his temper, though he fought to control his body's impulses to rip apart the forest as he all but teleported himself through it.

The miko was calf-deep in water, blue energy surrounding her. Sesshoumaru stood, eyes slowly turning clear, at the eastern bank. Seeing him she modestly stopped the edges of the yukata from flapping around her, through the power of the spell still had enough strength to make her hair whip about above and around her.

_"Well, well, it seems the girl has made her choice, milord." _The voice, an unnatural presence, floated around in his mind. _'The water god.' _Sesshoumaru stared into Kagome's azure depths and at once determined that she was obtuse. She was obtuse, naive, infuriating, innocuous, oblivious, ignorant and, even worse, she had no idea. She had no idea that she had no idea. A dark smile flickered on his lips.

"Sesshoumaru..." The drop of the honorific made Sesshoumaru prouder, in some minute way, though her face was the perfect representation of innocence. He should be angry, he should be furious that she was trying to leave him. Of course, almost in response to this thought his shoulders lowered, his hands unclenched. He closed his eyes as thoughts bombarded his mind.

Couldn't she tell the reasons behind his declaration? She truly was an idiot. But, then again, so was he. All Sesshoumaru could tell was that they were both fools; she didn't understand that she didn't understand and he was clueless about himself, her, his lands, everything. They really made a sorry bunch. When he opened his eyes he was surprised to find her fading into the spell, getting ready to jump to some other place. With a cold face and a hammering heart Sesshoumaru blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"One week."

Kagome's eyebrows shot up in surprise, her mouth a perfect 'o'. "Eh...?"

"Return to This Sesshoumaru in one week." He would rather lock her up in his castle, forbid her from ever disappearing again. But, dammit, her words had gotten to him. _'What has scarred you so much, Sesshoumaru, that you cannot trust me to leave and come back again on my own will?' _The miko placed her trust where it fell; Sesshoumaru trusted nobody. If he wanted the same treatment she had given everyone else he would have to be the one to initiate it.

Kagome's eyes opened even wider and a peaceful smile fluttered onto her face. She was a little more than a shade, her voice a whisper on the wind. "Ariga-" She was gone before she could finish saying her thanks.

Sesshoumaru let out the breath he hadn't realised he had been keeping. He told himself that it was temporary, that she would return to him and wouldn't abandon him. _'She is honour bound, like This one. She will try.' _Feeling along the telepathic thread the entity had contacted him on Sesshoumaru made his statement.

_"He who knows does not speak; he who speaks does not know." _Before the god had the time to retort Sesshoumaru cut the string that connected them, stalking back to his castle, shrugging off guards on his way. After all, he _had _given the girl permission to leave, there was no need for them to find her, yet.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Haku almost grimaced when the telepathic connection was brutally cut but he only lipped the frown slightly. It would not do for one of his stature and power react too strongly for something so insignificant. There was certainly something brewing within the Inu taiyoukai, evidenced by the strong reactions Haku had felt coming from the lord caused by the summoning of his bride. _'Surely, his heart is not swaying.'_Haku did not like the forebonding emotions he was feeling at the thought.

Anymore thoughts were interrupted as the aura of his bride quickly approached. Haku spreaded out his arms and caught his beloved. He embraced her and kissed her soft lips, greeting her in the most intimate way. "Welcome home, beloved." His eyes slowly opened as he spoke. Haku smiled when he saw the pretty blush on her cheeks. _'So innocent still.'_

His kisses were so warm. Kagome felt her heart melt a little more each time. She could feel the heat on her cheeks and could hear the wild beating of her heart. His eyes held her own captive and her hands moved on there own as one settled in his thick, silky hair and the other rested on his cheek. His skin felt soft and smooth under her fingertips. She did not know when she closed her eyes again but soon she threw away all thoughts and let herself melt again into his kiss.

The soft cushion of mattress tactile against her back and her head was placed gently on the ultra soft and fluffy pillow. The cool fabric contrasted greatly with the heat emanated on the front of her body from Haku's masculine form. Goosebumps began to form on her exposed chest, though only her cleavage showed, as she vaguely felt the silk of her sleeping yukata slip down her shoulders. Breath of hot air from the male above her spiked her skin sensitivity and caused gasps and moans to come from her lips.

"Haku-sama!" Every kiss and touch stroked her like electric ecstasy, thunderous and wild storms in April that would bring blooming flowers in May. So lost she was that she did not see ribbons of water snake up her legs, though she felt them; the cold liquids brought her more pleasure. She cried out when cold aqua entered her nether maiden entrance. She was so confused and fear of the unknown. "Haku?" She screamed out his name over and over, her minded wanted answer at one time only for any more thoughts to vanished like dust when the almost unbearably cold liquid touched her chastity barrier and she nearly choked. She was finally able to breathe when she felt the cold liquid leave her and her entire body cooled down. A content sigh passed her lips just before she felt her betrothal's smooth lips kissed her cheek and her body melted into his embrace just beside her.

The silence was comfortable and too serene, Kagome felt, to be interrupted. She wanted to ask what he had done and his reasons for doing so but could not bring herself to speak. She yawned and fell at sleep with a mental note to ask her secretive dragon for his actions once she woke next. _'Dragon? Since when have I referred to Haku as a dragon?'_

_'Such temptation,'_ Haku thought as he ghost the silky-soft skin of his bethrothed's shoulder while his eyes moved across her exposed skin. He had never thought about these things before; never had his mind exercised thoughts of humanly intimacies nor had he ever had a wanting like he did with her. She looked so peaceful, so trusting, which was why he had placed the spell on her. He did not trust the Inu as far as he could throw him. It had irritated him to learn that the demonic Inu had developed an attraction to his bride and so early on just after she became his betroth. He almost felt like his heavenly father was testing him. _'Hm, it may just be.'_ The thought made the river god frown. _'No matter, I will not lose.'_

Haku focused his gaze on the face of his sleeping bride. She smiled when she unconsciously reached to him in her sleep; her small hand rested over his heart and clawed slightly at the silk fabric of his sleeping yukata. Kagome wiggled closer and rest her head on his chest and purred. _'No, I don't think I can let go.'_

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

Kikyou was dieing again. She abhorred dieing. Well, she mused as she watched a human InuYasha mutter things above her, uncomprehending; was it possible for one dead already to die?  
>InuYasha... his hair was obsidian, his eyes, violet. She had never seen him in his human form before, didn't know he had one. He had never been very open to her when they had their time, always running away to heavens-knew-where when he thought that something would happen.<p>

Kagome sure had changed him. Kikyou would allow her incarnation that much at least. He had friends; unlikely, strange, bent-on-revenge people but friends nonetheless. InuYasha had always been gruff. Kikyou had accepted it as a part of him but, as shown by Kagome, it was obviously an act. She felt so useless...

"Kikyou! Stay with me!" InuYasha picked up her head, heavy as it was with her inanimation. Kikyou wished for a time when she could have felt the heat from his palms, wished for a time she could have felt anything but her hollowness inside. She was an abomination, not meant to be alive.

Kikyou could feel her soul trying to detach itself from her body. No, that wasn't how it felt. She could feel her_self _trying to get free from the bones and clay that provided her golem existence.

Her eyes closed, her limbs felt suddenly heavy.

As she drifted slowly,

yet surely away,

one thought made itself clear in her mind.

No.

Eyes flung open she tightened her grasp on the closest thing to her, which happened to be the sleeve of InuYasha's suikan. The monk and the demon slayer both jumped back in surprise, each holding their arms close to their rapidly pounding hearts. InuYasha blinked.

Kikyou refused to re-die. Thoughts of the darkness and unwillingness of her years waiting to be reincarnated ate away at her. It scared her more than the fact that she was an abomination herself ever did.

Her soul-collectors swarmed around her, whispering her sweet nothings in their melodic talk. _'Get me every sort of soul you can; pure, dark, old, young, male, female; there must be one that works. Even youkai or hanyou if need be.' _

Kikyou let herself be pulled up by InuYasha; he knew when she wanted to get up and assisted her to do so. The miko stood herself steadily on her feet, keeping her bow hand loose. After-all, letting the humans know that she was putting all her weight on the wood via white knuckles was going to make them insist that she sat down.

"Kikyou-sama, are you sure you are okay?" Asked the monk. Kikyou nodded.

"I wish Kagome no harm," _yet, _"I only wish to know how she has changed. I thought she might be with you but," Kikyou looked around once again, making sure that there were no signs of sudden grief etched onto their faces. She couldn't have her reincarnation dieing on her, could she? "it appears that she is no longer here."

InuYasha looked sourly to the side. "She was being rebellious." He mumbled, kicking half-heartedly at the dirt by his feet. "Said I didn't treat her good or something."

Kikyou smiled a little. InuYasha was still hers, didn't Kagome realise that he was rubbish at showing his emotions? Or, perhaps, he had been to harsh on the girl. Kikyou winced. She knew what that felt like. Kagome was compared to Kikyou, who was compared to the woman she had been fifty years ago. Kikyou was a clay-pot; she was not the Shikon-miko, a kind and caring priestess of Edo, a woman. Kikyou felt a twinge of guilt. InuYasha didn't realise any of those things, but it would only be a matter of time.

Kikyou was weak, emotionally exhausted and on the verge of crying with frustration. It was time to leave.

"I will search for her then." Kikyou put on her usual blank face, trying to suppress the tight feeling at the back of where her throat would be. She needed to find Kagome. "Don't try and stop me, I promise not to hurt her," '_If I don't have to.'_

"Kikyou!" InuYasha grabbed her hand, violet eyes boring into her brown ones. "Please, stay longer."

Puppy-dog eyes had never worked on her. "I'm sorry." With that Kikyou pulled her hand from his grasp and strode towards the surrounding forest. It was time to try and find Kagome.

**A White Rose_A Kiss of Desire**

A nearly silent sigh of frustration passed Haku's lips and his eyes slowly opened. '_Freewill.'_  
>The gift of The Lord is truly amazing. Haku was surprised at first that the creature that was called Kikyou still possessed the grand gift. She was no longer human per se, but he guessed that the fact that she had once been a human was good enough for her to hold on to that gift. Another reason could be because the anchor that held her to this realm was that of a living soul, a pure soul at that, that she was able to utilize freewill.<p>

Another failed attempt to call back Kagome's soul; he could feel her, the bubble of Kikyou's consciousness washed over him like a wave. He was so close this time but the abomination was too greedy for life, a stolen life. She lived a half-life, a walking curse. Sympathy for the soul clawed at him. She knew not that she was tainting her soul more with each moment she remained in this realm; her name written in dark ink multiple times and burned into the many pages of the book of sinners in the devil's hands. Kikyou was right to fear her re-death for what awaited her would not be kind in any way.

A part of him wanted to prolong her time on this land just so she would not have to face the horrors that awaited her but he knew better. If he were to do so, her punishments will only be worst. _'No, the kindest thing to do is to return her to death's hand as soon as possible.' _

"How long have I been here?" His words were a soft whisper in the nearly silence of the bed chamber with only the soft tranquil sounds of underwater symphony. His eyes closed again as he ran through misty memory lanes. Once upon a paradise he lived. His home was the utopia that every mortal wished to reach upon death.

"Why am I here?"


End file.
